Skip to main content

Right Kind of Love

I asked myself today, “How do I show love” when it comes to my children? This seems like an easy question to answer because as a mom, you would automatically say - I show love in so many ways - and list all the things you do for your kiddos from sun up to bedtime. But I’m thinking about showing love after:

...correcting your child about something for the 10th time;

... your kid does the exact opposite for what you’ve said to do;

...they behave as if their beliefs, thoughts, or feelings mean more than anything you could tell them;

...this list could go on and on!

How do I show love when the little people you love are not responding to you in the way you’d like (obedience, patience, kindness, etc.)? I show love by going to God first when I am frustrated and asking Him to show me how to get through to my little one. My son said something that shook me today. He said, “No matter what mama, remember that I will always love you.” This was after a long struggle (I should say battle) over going to bed and being quiet. I came to realize, after talking to Jesus, that in that moment, showing love meant sitting with my kiddo and staying beside him to show I value his feelings of needing security and peace.

It was a reminder that the way you show love, may not be the type of love a person is desperately needing. I could give you trinkets or gift cards every year for your birthday, but if what you are craving is a sentimental experience with me - quality time together - the love I am giving you isn’t very valuable. I am learning, and we could all use the reminder, to go to God to see how to love others. It’s easy to love each other when we are simpatico. It’s harder to love when we don’t understand each other and our needs are shifting and changing.

So today, when:

...parenting gets tough;

...caregiving gets frustrating;

...coworking gets annoying;

...being a spouse gets intimidating;

Take a second and ask God to show you how to love this person that He created, knows intimately, and cares about deeply. Trust me, God will center you on the right needs of that person and give you the right kind of love to share.

Be blessed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Please share your thoughts and reflections spurred on by this post. :)

Popular posts from this blog

Insignificance: Parable of the Lost Son

Hello! Women's Prayer Call Series: Parable of the Lost Son Today I want to share my thoughts on the parable of the lost son which is found in Luke 15 verses 11 through 32. When I read through this parable last week, I felt led to talk about the struggle of feeling mentally lost and insignificant because of where you are right now - whatever those circumstances may be. I want you to look at this story and see how Jesus is telling us that God cares a lot about the wellbeing of each and every one of us. I want to encourage you to see how valuable you are to God right where you are. So you know where I’m going with this. Here’s a quick summary of the parable, and I think it’s a good idea to read it in the context of all of chapter 15. Jesus starts with a story of a man losing one of his sheep; he describes how the man leaves the other 99 sheep to go after the 1 that was lost. When the man finds the lost sheep, he puts the sheep on his shoulders, brings it home, and gathers his friends ...

Advice, Short & Sweet

The chapters I've read and reflected on for the past couple of days had good advice that stood out to me here and there. I noticed an overriding theme that wisdom comes through controlling our hearts, reactions, and in checking how we relate with other people. Below is a list of verses that were key for me. Proverbs 16 gives good instruction on having wisdom over your emotions and spirit. 16:2 : This verse tells us that the Lord weighs our spirit. It's not enough to do the right things. God wants our motivations to be pure and righteous too. 16:20 : Here we see that using wisdom to handle the issues we face will bring about good results. We also learn that trusting in God, will bring us happiness. 16:32 : Here is encouragement to temper our anger. Don't let it fly off the handle. God tells us that controlling our angry emotions and spirit makes us strong. Proverbs 17 gives good instruction on having wisdom in how we treat each other. 17:15 : We should treat each...

The Expanse

I participated in a Zoom prayer call tonight with other women at my church and at the end I just had that feeling of loveliness. It felt good, it felt connected, and it made me want to connect with God even more. I opened my Bible and read Jeremiah 2:2 .  Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.” My thoughts after reading this was: Lord increase my wonder of You.  When things are brand new we have a strong urge to learn more, seek more, engage more. When the shine wears off, we become complacent and less interested. Maybe it’s because we feel we’ve learned all we need to know. Maybe it’s because we are too comfortable in the now. Maybe it’s because we can’t see the possibility of there being so much more for us to gain.  When it comes to my spirit and You, God, please open my eyes to see the expanse of all that you have for me to...