What is Love? It is more than affection, many define love and confine it’s definition to the romantic feelings many couples feel during the early days of their relationship. The problem with this definition is it ties Love to a description of affection and it does not take into account that feelings, even infatuation or strong really amazing feelings come and go. Don’t get me wrong. Feelings are great, especially when falling in Love. But nevertheless feelings come and go. How unfortunate is this narrow perspective. For love is so much more, much grander, more fulfilling and rare. Ultimately, Love is a choice. The best kind of love, the most lasting and enduring is Unconditional Love. This is the Love God the father has for you. He loves you unconditionally, no matter how unworthy you may feel. As I ponder on what’s real, this is the kind of Love I want to emulate in my life. May we all be blessed with unconditional love by those in our lives. This is what is true, this is what is lasting and this is what makes life worth living for! To Love as God loves, there is no greater pursuit, no higher purpose, nothing more fulfilling. I pray you know this kind of love, and love others accordingly…
You can experience the profound, nourishing and unconditional love God desires to give you each time you receive communion worthily. You can also Love and console God by visiting him in adoration. What a great God we have! God is Love.
“Because where there is Love, there is also pain.”
This perfectly stated truth, quoted above was a response to me by a question I had posed to my dear Mother Madolyn.
This also brings to mind a note, I had written to myself in early August of this year. I had written my thoughts on the back of a card I received during a meeting…I didn’t want to forget the pain. I truly felt it was a lesson. I wrote,
“Remember this pain. From pain comes Love.”
I have learned that Love does not come without pain or suffering, Love is not selfish, Love truly wills the good of the other. Even in times of many unknowns. Times when I have pondered on a lot of why questions.
When contemplating on Love and Pain, it points to the cross. Jesus showed us his Love by suffering greatly for us, the pain he endured is Incomprehensible. Not only physical pain but he suffered great heartache and anguish as he loved so many without being loved in return…
If you have loved in this life, you will know pain. The strength and opportunity to grow from that pain is trusting in God and his will for your life.
May the fruit of bearing your pain, create continual growth in your capacity to Love. May you grow in fortitude and be given the grace to Love without ceasing, to Love no matter the circumstance, to Love even from a distance, to Love with no boundaries. To Love as our Lord Loves…
This morning I received a beautiful text message from my mother Madolyn. She told me she loved me. I know this and I have never doubted her love for me but it is so sweet seeing her love in action. She shared a quote with me from our favorite Saint.
“Nothing is sweeter than love; nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing more generous, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller or better in Heaven or on earth; for love proceeds from God and cannot rest but in God above all things created.” *By St Therese, the Little Flower*???
And there it is! The beauty of this quote, is in its truth. The line that jumped out at me was, “Love proceeds from God and cannot rest…”
Think about these words, LOVE CANNOT REST.
Love cannot rest, therefore Love is action! It’s praying for those you made a promise to pray for no matter the circumstance. It’s sending a text to just say Hello, I’m thinking of you, it’s a surprise gift just because!
How can you show others love through action today? Let us Love, truly in all its sweetness and never hold back.
We all have this one life given to us. There are no “do-overs”, and we all have to make a living. It’s just part of life, we all have bills and responsibilities and many refer to their work as “The daily grind.”
When I think of this reality I can’t help but think why does it have to be a “grind”, which usually carries with it the connotation of crushing monotony.
Deep down I realize most of us desire to live a passionate life. At least I do. A life, where even my work, the work that helps sustain me and helps to provide food not only for my body but also for my heart and soul through its fruits. I acknowledge that some work is better suited for others. This is the beauty of the variety of unique talents and skills we are each graced with. If we could fearlessly develop and build upon these strengths I believe we will find the path that leads to opportunities. To find wonder in this life and be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Whether that is working for a non-profit that is dear to your heart or paving your own way in a career that truly fulfills you. My prayer is that you may find through Gods grace, the elements that are important to you to pursue your passions. I pray you may build a passionate life. Whether that be a career that can serve as an outlet for your creativity or the rewards of being a stay at home mom rearing your children. Remember we only have this one life, we only have today. Follow your dreams, follow your passions, they are the compass that God has blessed you with. Trust in him to guide you and ask him to help you live this life with passion! And may you ALWAYS LOVE others passionately as there is no better way to live.
The bad times make the good times better. Without sadness we wouldn’t know joy. It’s ironic at times but some of the truest beauty within us comes from the pain we’ve known, to know Companionship you must also know loneliness. It is by experience we learn, we don’t make it through this life without some deep wounds or pain. To really appreciate true friends you’ve had to have known fake friends. To appreciate warmth you’ve felt coldness.
Time may leave wounds, but time also heals through Gods grace. To discover where your going in this life you have to have your feet on the ground and be ready to embrace doors that God may open for you. Leave the wounds of time from your life in the past. Move forward, to places you’ve never been. Live, dream and know with God by your side you can do anything!
Ultimately through time, lots of faith and prayers many of our wounds are healed. Even though you may still feel some wounds very deeply I encourage you to seek strength in prayer and ponder how you may be able to use that pain as a source of motivation to help others. To be an instrument of healing for those who may have gone through what has wounded you. I pray that your heart has known great joy, love and peace. May your remaining time here on earth be a fulfilling path one that God may always lead you on. He will always continue to guide you as long as you seek his will. He will bless you in all you do. Know that through Jesus Christ your wounds are healed and that you only have Gods best in your life now!
Even though we are wounded we all hold a beautiful hope that emanates from our pain, it’s in that beauty that we have the opportunity to shine, to overcome and triumph. Through our wounds we can be a light and give hope to those on our paths…
Isaiah 53:4-5
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
Today is Thanksgiving. What a beautiful holiday that gives each of us a moment to take pause. To reflect on our blessings, to appreciate those we love and recognize the gift that they are in our lives.
To be thankful for the trials and struggles in life as well. For they add character and help make us who we are. It is through trials that we learn and how most of us grow. We grow in our faith, in our endurance and in our resilience. Today, I hope you have time to ponder on all the gifts in your life both large and small. The fact that you woke up today is a gift! You have another day on this earth to be a blessing to others. You have today to show your love. Today I challenge you to express your thankfulness and demonstrate it by a small act of kindness or gesture of Love to those dearest to you in this life. You see, you may really appreciate your loved ones and those that you are thankful for but how will they know if you don’t take the TIME to express it. Maybe you have been so busy with work and the things this life can throw at you that it is only today that you can slow down and show your love to others. Today is a day to appreciate, to LOVE, to cherish, to relax, to enjoy and to spend TIME with those you love the most in this life.
I am thankful for Love, the LOVE of my God which fills my heart so completely. The love of my dearest friends who are my beautiful sisters in Christ, the love of my family, my parents and brother, the love of my dear spiritual companion and adopted mother Madolyn.
For all these beautiful relationships I am thankful, they are genuine, they are beautiful, they are real. I thank God for time, which is the ultimate expression of Love, it is time that expresses love truly. A song comes to mind when thinking of Love and the value Time relates to love. The song is called “Time is Love” by Josh Turner, I recently heard this song for the first time. I focused on the lyrics, as its truth was so sweet to me. I couldn’t put it more simply and truthfully. I will share a few of the lyrics with you now:
“I know I gotta put in the hours, Make the money while the sunlight shines But anything I gotta get done, It can get done some other time Time is love, gotta run, Love to hang longer, But I got someone who waits, Waits for me and right now She’s where I need to be, Time is love, gotta run I only get so many minutes, Don’t wanna spend ’em all on the clock…”
Time is love, time is a gift, a precious gift that is fluid and passes by so quickly. May you be blessed with time with your loved ones today. May you create many beautiful memories today and be blessed abundantly. May you always be thankful for all the gifts and blessings in your life! Know you are loved and that LOVE is the most beautiful and ENDURING gift. You are in my prayers always…
Why do any of us truly feel. The fact that we have emotion and rationalization is what separates us from the animals. Through our feelings we are often able to gauge situations…to rely on our gut instinct! As I like to refer to it, but I’ve come to be more aware of how feelings can also fail you. Feelings are fleeting at times and many are fickle with their feelings whether they realize it or not. Using feeling alone to decide anything can be at times the problem. You see feelings come and go and if we use them as the sole source to guide our lives then we will never be satisfied. There are so many beautiful examples when not relying on “feeling” is actually the more intelligent, wise choice and loving choice. One example that is often referred to is the fact that Love is a choice. Christ ultimately proved that to us, especially in the garden of Gethsame. He didn’t feel like going through all he knew was ahead of him but thank God that he didn’t rely on feelings even after asking God the father to let this cup pass him. Instead Jesus, CHOSE, he chose to suffer out of his love and obedience to the father. This great love from Jesus for you and I is more than a feeling, it’s a choice. I’ve come to realize more than ever before, feelings are good but the true test of Love is defined by that which endures, perseveres even when feelings wane.
As this year approaches its close, I ponder on the ride. This year has been a year to remember! I can recall how many fears and questions were faced head on and conquered for myself by the grace of God. I was also surrounded by my beautiful faith community in a time when I thought I could walk alone, and I was able to once again appreciate the beauty of community with a new vigor. It is Love alone that makes this life worthwhile, that and Union with God..who is love, be an instrument of his Love.
God has also taught me many lessons. Some of them very painful. But from pain comes growth, kind of like working out! I am so grateful to God, for this life, for the people he has placed in my life and for the gift they have been to me in so many ways both known and unknown. As I truly believe the people in our paths have an affect on our lives farther into the future than one could ever imagine. It truly is beautiful, this gift of life and fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Prayer has been the foundation of this year for me, it has been the root of my strength,it has consumed my time. Through prayer I have found the ability to persevere when my heart has ached in ways I thought would never cease, when I have doubted, worried and been ready to give up. Through prayer I have hungered to bless those dearest to me, my heart has longed to bless others in the only way I know how, which is through Love. To love those in my life unselfishly through abundant amounts of prayer! Even when I have felt unloved from those dearest to me. I’ve come to realize it takes great strength to Love those who hurt you, those who you long for their love. This pain has helped me to understand more than ever before, how Jesus thirsted for our Love. He was dying on a cross, suffering bitterly thirsting for you your love, for my love, and how painful it is to feel the rejection. Each time we choose sin we inflict this pain on our precious Lord, when we choose the world instead of him, when we reject him. Prayer has transformed how I love and how I look at life, it has transformed what I value and what I dedicate my time to.
Through God’s grace, my faith and prayer time I have been able to see how fleeting this life can be. The world just keeps getting busier and crazier. Its up to each of us, to choose wisely, how we invest our time and what we do to help others. I can never get over how much time I have wasted in the past on social media. If you think about it, does it really add to the person you are? Do you spend more time on social media, scrolling through the selfie created images of others at their best moments than you do in prayer. If you answered yes, I hope you have the discipline to take a step back and take a time out for prayer. There really is life beyond social media and any real friend in one’s life doesn’t need social media to keep in touch.
As the year approaches its close, I am grateful for my faith in God. For the abundant blessings he has given me, for the hope he has nurtured in my heart, for the people I love with all my heart, my family and my friends.
I am grateful for this season in my life, a season to serve him with abandon to grow in the gifts he has blessed me with and to become the woman he desires me to be.
We have a good God! All I know is he Loves you more than you could ever comprehend…I want to Love as he does, to love others unconditionally…In all ways, in prayer, in time spent with those who the Lord desires in my life, with my family and my friends.
Thank you God for a year to remember and I look forward with much Love in my heart, joy, expectation and hope for many good things in the year to come!!!
I’m sure you can recall a song you love, maybe one that you could really relate to. The lyrics just hit you! Those are the best songs…You know a song like that, that somehow conveys what your feeling or going through is why I love music so much.
Just like the recent song off of Dierks Bentley’s Black album…”Can’t be Replaced.”
Wow. That song. Says it all…there are just some things in this life that can’t be replaced.
It may be much clearer to you in hindsight, as most truths are… truths revealed by trial and error that we all experience in this life but I challenge you to ponder on what or who in your life…that just can’t be replaced. Deep down, You probably already know.
If your able to realize…or just slow down enough to appreciate your blessings you’ll take the time to soak them in, to nurture those things or relationships in your life.
“There’s just some things that can’t be replaced…you can get damn close but it won’t ever be the same…”
What do you miss? What do you want back? Learn from that and always remember there are some gifts that only come into our lives once…soak them in.
The power of a woman lies not in her beauty or physical attributes but rather in the beauty of her heart…the compassion and love she expresses so uniquely. It is in her touch that is warm and gentle. The constancy that she brings in her presence to those she loves and supports. There is so much power in the heart of a virtuous woman and when unleashed can change the world for the better. The Truest beauty of a woman, is in her soul and in her mind…How cold this world would be without women. To the many beautiful mothers, daughters and sisters know you have a power and grace beyond your comprehension and you are a gift to this dark world…