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

Comfort in Discomfort

Our small group chatted recently about a comment our pastor mentioned a few Sundays ago. The comment left some of us scratching our heads and trying to understand how we really  felt about it. Our pastor said that he's noticed a common thread stated by people who experience hardships. They all said they would not change their bad experiences because they now value the good lessons they learned following their trials. The common sentiment was that the pain and hard lessons were worth it in order to grow. I intellectually understood this point, but my physical and emotional, pain-understanding being, disagreed! Do I want to experience hurt and discomfort just to learn how to lean into God and understand that He is my shelter and Comforter? The answer is no , not really. I'd rather just know it. Unfortunately, that's not the way it works. We live with our human nature, ripe with opportunities for exercising freewill. This freewill can positively and negatively impact our live...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Wisdom Walk

I'm reading Proverbs 4 and 5 and some of the takeaway points were: (1) learn about wisdom and instruction, (2) let your whole body be in submission to wisdom, and (3) embrace correction Proverbs 4 implores us to get wisdom and understanding. We learn from this chapter that King Solomon's "father" taught Solomon the value of gaining wisdom and the dangers of ignoring it. ( Proverbs 4:3-4 ) "Wisdom is the principal thing" which sets you up for promotion, honor, grace and glory. ( Proverbs 4:7-9 ) If we want all of these good things, we need to be given wisdom and shown the right paths. We need to be teachable. Proverbs 4 is written in a dual way where it's implied that Solomon was taught by his father King David. We can also read Solomon's words and see him speaking metaphorically as a "father" to us. This writing style was oddly soothing because it helped me get past the thoughts of - well, what should people do if they don't hav...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more