JOY'S SURPRISING TIE

I grabbed a quick cuppa early yesterday morning with a dear friend; at times we don't see eye to eye so conversation was filled with deep respect, opposite points of view and yet, she won me over! I could have left with a difference of opinion, but it was my opportunity to look at my stance and shift, move, bend and bow to a bigger heart and a greater cause than my own. Her immense love for her family and others deeply touched my heart and changed my mind. How funny. It wasn't some big political debate, though it could have been, it was something far closer to home: how to love and live with those who differ from us. Ah, what love could teach us if we would sit at her feet.

 "Love is patient and kind, it is not self seeking," 1 Cor. 13:4

We know everyone needs love, from the tiniest babe who can't thrive without human touch, to the oldest among us who needs others to come alongside their loneliness and bring meaning to their days. Love for others fuels our journey as nothing else can. It makes us less selfish and self-centered and it builds up the world. And the call to love is not just for family and friends, for the victim and the disenfranchised, it is for our enemy as well. This is the tough stuff. How to love those who disagree with us, hurt us, and say all manner of evil things against us? 

"Love keeps no record of wrongs," 1 Cor. 13:5

Morning tea reminded me to see another point of view and let the joy of being together tether me to a love that "always protects, always trusts and always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails," 1 Cor. 13:7, 8. Love protects the integrity of another, trusts in the power of love, and hopes in One who never fails.  Knowing we are deeply loved unleashes a joy unspeakable. 

Take time in your Heavenly Father's presence to know His love and allow this love change how you see yourself and others. May this encounter touch your heart and bring you joy, and may this joy and love you find be reflected in a world that desperately needs it. It's a simple as a cup of tea, being present to God in prayer and listening to what He has to say. You might be surprised.

Will you let love ground you and joy rise in you?

Medicine from Sacred Scripture:

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, 

that we should be called the children of God! 

And that is what we are."

1 John 3:1