Your Love For Me

Have you ever heard the same word or phrase several times in a day or over the course of a week? This is the type of thing which causes me to pause and take to prayer. When I hear common words or phrases, I am intrigued by it and take it to God to contemplate.

This past week this came about not with a word or phrase but with a concept. The concept of the act of love. How do people show love, accept love and need love.

The prayer I wrote in reflection of the scriptures for the week is one example of how this concept came to me. My goal for the prayer was to give pause to some of the ways I love God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, AND how they each show love in return in their own unique way.

Father, I love you for the breath you give me!

Jesus, I love you for the example you give me!

Spirit, I love you for the guidance you give me!

Father, in your creation, I see your love for me!

Jesus, in your sacrifice, I see your love for me!

Spirit, in your presence, I see your love for me!

Another example of how this concept came to me was through a podcast. The hosts spoke with a Marine Veteran, who while in Afghanistan, jumped on a grenade that was tossed onto the rooftop he was on. He said he did it to save his best friend whom he was standing with and protect the rest of his squad. Miraculously he survived and his story is outlined in the book, “You Are Worth It: Building a Life Worth Fighting For,” which he co-wrote.

A part of Kyle’s story is meeting John Maxwell, a leadership guru. John was intrigued by Kyle’s courage and invited Kyle to share the stage with him at a leadership conference. John said Kyle’s story caused him to reflect on the question, “who would I jump on a grenade for” and realized the number of people was very small. Of course hearing this, one cannot help but consider the question and answer too; it’s truly a difficult one.

Then, yet another podcast where I heard a woman open up about her life right now. She shared how she has picked up some bad habits during quarantine and how they are affecting her, keeping her from ever feeling at rest. You see she’s a business owner, now working from home and has her kids there too. She, like many women (with or without kids at home) who is trying to take care of all things for everyone and is finding she has little left for herself at the end of the day.

Who am I kidding, this is not a NEW problem by any means but it IS another example of how a person shows love, accepts love and needs love. This woman is struggling with not putting aside the time for herself to be loved in the way she needs. Yes, spending time playing board games with your kids or taking them on a hike is an expression of love, but every person needs time where they can set aside time to “check out” and take care of themselves.

All of this gave me much to contemplate. In the Kyle story, I determined that his action of jumping on the grenade was the same type of sacrifice Jesus made by being nailed to the cross. Kyle gave himself so others may be saved. And in the same sense, most parents also sacrifice their time, energy and sanity to protect their children.

It made me realize that when I wrote the prayer, reflecting on how I receive love and give love to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, I can and should do this exercise for the people in my life. By doing this, I am allowing myself to be loved and giving my love in return. I think then the only thing to do is, in the words of James Taylor is, “Shower the people you Love with Love!”

PS. If God is love and you are created in the image and likeness of God, then you are also love! BE LOVE!