Loving People

What does it really mean to love someone? I've asked myself that question at least an hundred times. I have a huge family and many friends that I feel I love. There are people in my life that mean a great deal to me and those that I would fiercely argue that I love, but what does that mean in the living of it? Well, love is a choice first of all, and it is a sacrifice second of all. So many times we get caught up in the part of love that feels good. We enjoy the way it makes us feel, we enjoy the "perks" that love brings - the warmth, the security, the hugs, kisses, comforting words, shoulders to cry on - but what about the work that love entails? We often forget about that and then when called on to exercise real love we fail miserably because we don't like how it feels. With love comes pain and hardship. When you choose to love someone you make a choice to love them good or bad, rain or shine, whether or not they treat you right, because love is not about receiving, it's about giving. That's a hard pill to swallow sometimes. We want those we love to love us the way we love them, to do for us what we do for them, to treat us in the way we feel we treat them, and sometimes we expect them to show us love in the same way we show them love. But that is not loving someone. That is being selfish and loving ourselves. I Corinthians 13 is an entire chapter on the characteristics of love, and it's an enlightening read on what love truly is. It says love is patient and kind. That means that it is never impatient or unkind. In every circumstance, when someone is at their best or worst, no matter how they act or what happens, if you love them you will have patience and be able to maintain kindness. Is this hard to do? Absolutely! But if you really love someone it can be done. I Corinthians 13 also says that love does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek to do that which pleases itself but what serves the other person better, it doesn't insist on its own rights or its own way, and it isn't resentful or fretful. These are all things that are a challenge for me in my relationships with those I love. I become frustrated with how someone is treating me, irritated that I am not getting as much as I am giving, annoyed that I have to put up with the faults and shortcomings of others, and fretful that maybe I am not loved as much as I love. It takes the Holy Spirit reminding me that I am not truly loving someone when I am acting this way to get me back on track. At times it seems it is impossible to live out this explanation of love, but then I have to remember as well that God is love, He is the originator and provider of love, and only He can put true love in our hearts for others. If He puts the love there then He will help us to live it out the way it was intended to be lived out. The only thing we have to do is choose to live love out, to let the Lord help us when we can't do it on our own, and to put those we love before ourselves. Then we will truly be loving someone. This is a hard lesson to learn and I have by no means learned it, but I want to. I know there are those I really love, those God has put a special love for in my heart, and I want to really love them. When it's all said and done, I think that learning to truly love someone helps you to love them even more. I think it's loving through the good and the bad together that draws you closer together to those you love. For every time you choose to live out your love for someone it makes your love for them grow stronger. I won't say that it makes it easier to make the right choice, but it does help you to form the habit of doing the right thing, which is good for both you and those you love. Yes, truly loving someone is hard work, but it is possible and so worth the effort.

Running

I went running last night and it felt soooo good. I hadn't been in a week and I knew if I didn't get started again I would lose my habit that I have started forming. Fortunately my friend said she wanted to go too. I was thrilled to have a partner; but I was a bit worried that I would be found sadly lacking in the area of physical fitness. My friend runs quite a bit and the last time we ran together I was totally pathetic. I couldn't keep up with her at all. She would want to run I would be barely making it and wanting to stop. "Oh, well," I thought, "At least you can use it as motivation to push yourself and accomplish more." So, off we went. We got to the park and started to walk to warm ourselves up. It gave us a great chance to talk and catch up as well. About a half-mile later we started to run. I turned my music on to motivate me and started jogging at a comfortable pace. It felt good to be moving again. I had been pretty much physically inactive for the past week. I hadn't really had a chance to stretch my muscles or use them for anything physically challenging and they were thanking me for putting them to use. I moved along entering my comfortable pace, moving my body in rhythm to the music in my earphones. My breath was coming easily and I felt like I could run at least a mile. We continued for just over a half-mile. I started to notice that my friend was falling behind and I wondered if maybe it was because my legs are longer so my stride is longer. We stopped to walk for a bit. I noticed she was breathing a bit hard and she then informed me that I had set a good pace for us, that I was running a pretty fast mile for someone who doesn't run all the time. I was shocked. I always felt like I was moving so slowly and the main focus of my attention was to just keep going. I measured my runs by time spent running and the amount of time my heart rate was elevated. I had never thought that I ran fast, or even at a rapid pace. We talked and walked for a while longer and then ran another half-mile. I sprinted the last quarter of the stretch. It felt good to rush down the sidewalk, to feel the cool air hit my face and my sweaty self. When I reached the end I was out of breath but I felt so amazingly good. In all we had covered about 3 miles and I didn't feel like I was going to die. I just felt really good. Mostly I was so proud of myself. I have been pushing myself to get in shape for the last several months and I have not had a whole lot of success. Various problems have arisen and laziness has triumphed more than once but I have been successful for at least the last month. Then, last week I wasn't able to do anything and that was really depressing. I hated myself for falling off the wagon, so to speak, but I knew that I was determined to get back on. Running last night was the start of that and I am so happy with what I did. Maybe you wonder why I am going on and on about this or why I even bothered to post about. Well, when you are striving for something and it feels like you are hitting a brick wall every time, it gets rather discouraging to keep going. Good habits are hard to form and hard to maintain. This is something I have wanted for a long time and I am thrilled that I seem to finally be on the right track to achieving it and I am really proud of myself and the progress I have made. I wondered if I would ever really achieve this goal and now I know I can.

Being Positive

I am not naturally of the disposition to be positive. I tend to notice all the terrible things in life and I have an innate knack for picking up on all the flaws around me. My sisters used to kid me that I should be a critic of some sort and then I could make money off my observations and opinions. But, I found that being negative all the time leaves you feeling pretty gloomy. You are always sad or depressed and you are never happy with what you have or what is happening. So, I started down the path of trying to change that part of who I am. It has been a rough path to follow, but I am getting better at it and I usually do best when I sit myself down and give my self a good talking to. Today I had to do just that. I was feeling pretty low. I miss my family, a lot, and I am not so happy with something in my life at the present. I was getting that very depressed feeling and didn't want to do much of anything. I could barely get out of bed this morning and drive to work. Sure, I could blame it on being tired, but truthfully, I was just depressed and feeling really down. So, I got to work and was getting ready to start my day and I decided that I didn't want to feel pessimistic all day. I didn't want to fight feelings of despair and loss for the next 18 hours. I told myself to straighten up and stop all this moping. I could either take what life and God had handed me and be satisfied with it or I could sit around being disgruntled and feeling sorry for myself. I decided that I didn't feel any better when I succumbed to the depression and opted to be positive. I made myself laugh, I made myself look at the day as a gorgeous day that I was happy to be alive in, and I made myself be happy. I decided that I was going to be positive, that I was going to see this as a day that the Lord had made and I was going to be happy and glad in it. It was a split-second decision, but it changed my day. This has been a good day, I am happy to be alive and living this day out, and I am sure that there are worse things in life than the things I have been given to handle, and even if there aren't there would still be something positive to look at even in the midst of the worst situation. So, here's to looking at the brighter side of things, to purposing to be positive, and living a joyful life no matter what is going on around me.

Count Your Blessings

Life is an interesting roller coaster ride that never seems to stop. There are the really great highs and the terrible lows, but at least there seems to be a pretty even amount of both. I have found in my life that for most horrendous situations there is usually something good that can be found. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to find it or a lot of patience to wait for it but it will show up. One comfort I have is that there is not only the presence of darkness in this world, but also the presence of light. The night will come. There is nothing I can do to stop it or even control it in any way. But, the morning will also always come and with it bring hope for a new day. I've been trying to learn to see the hope of the new day and focus on that rather than allowing myself to be caught up in the blackness of the night all around me. When I take the time to notice I can see that there are little hints of light in just about every situation I find myself. There are smiles and laughter with friends, there are hugs and kisses from those you love, there is strength and support from those closest to you, and there is advice and encouragement from those you have come to trust. There's an old hymn that came to mind today. It's called "Count Your Blessings". It talks about taking the time and effort to stop and notice all the good things that God has done in your life, all the great gifts He has given you. The song says that if you will stop and count your blessings you will be surprised at what the Lord has done for you and you will be filled with gratitude instead of being disgruntled about whatever it is that is bothering you. Today, I had to stop and count my blessings and I have found that I have quite a few. Sure, there are some things that aren't blessings, but I've found upon closer examination that there are some things that appear terrible, but they have a blessing hidden inside them. I have a family, amazing friends, good health, my needs are basically met, and I have a wonderful Savior Who never fails me, never leaves me. I am truly blessed. So, no matter what I am facing right now, no matter what comes up, no matter how many times the cart dips on my life's roller coaster, I can be content. The Lord promised He would not give me more than I can handle, which means if I can't do it in and of myself then He will give me the strength to do it, and He has provided some very helpful resources to help navigate all my storms. That's such a comforting thought! So, if you find yourself feeling down or depressed about your life or current situations, try counting your blessings. It really helps.