If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Lord,
the love Paul describes
is HARD WORK!
I was so naive to think
the movies showed
what love is.
Seems to me,
the movies miss
the whole point.
They show only
what someone called,
"the tingles"
that feeling
when someone flirts with you.
Love,
the love of a successful marriage,
is daily, routine, hard work.
It is scrub the toilets ordinary.
It is holding her hair when she's sick.
It is sitting prayerful beside the hospital bed.
It is making hard decisions together the best you know how.
It is managing money well.
It is learning how best to DO, "I love you."
It is oil changes and clean clothes.
It is stealing time to be intimate.
It is flowers and dinner.
It is calling when you'll be late.
It is coming home early to surprise her.
It is a quick text saying, "I'm thinking about you."
It is a small thoughtful gift.
Love is honoring the other.
It is knowing his biggest weakness
and NOT turning it against him!
It is knowing her best strength
and celebrating it with her!
It is a love that
says, "I do!" and does.
"I will!" and follows through.
Lord,
your kind of Love
is HARD WORK.
It is a love that gives.
It is a love that sacrifices.
It is a love that is humble.
It makes promises and keeps them.
Thank you, Jesus,
for showing us how to love.
Help us
live up to our covenant promises
doing the hard work
that is true love.
Amen.
______________________
______________________
Monday, June 8, 2015 marks my 13th wedding anniversary with my wife, Alle. I am grateful for the gift she is to me. God speaks to me through her love, her patience, her frustrations, and her encouragement.
No comments:
Post a Comment