ROOTED IN LOVE Friday, April 8
1 Corinthians 16:14: Let all that you do be done in love. One of the hardest things to tackle in life is the end of life. Our entire culture, and lives, revolve around the idea that our lives aren’t infinite, that life, like that which is good and beautiful, comes to an end. A few weeks before Christmas, we found out a family friend had passed away. He left behind his wife, and my three friends, his daughters. It was very sudden. We went to a celebration of his life the week following Christmas. There was a section of the afternoon that was dedicated to people freely coming up, and sharing stories about our friend or what they loved about him. As I sat there and took it all in, I couldn’t help but ponder what I had missed in the life of our friend. Had I fully appreciated his joy, his love, and his life the way I was meant to? The ceremony proceeded, and we enjoyed time with our friends before saying our goodbyes. The stories stuck with me though, and I became stuck with both a question and realization. What would I want people to remember about me? And in contrast, what would people actually remember me by? Were those the same? What stories would they share? And was I living the way I would want to be remembered by? Golly, life is tough and these are hard questions. But maybe by facing these, and by asking ourselves these questions, we can learn to pay attention to what is important day to day. The theme for 2022 is choose love, choose hope. How often in our lives do we miss out on choosing to be in relationship with those around us? I have to ask myself how often I choose to avoid a conversation with someone because I’m in a rush or don’t want to take the time. Everyday, we have thousands of these choices. There is a saying, “There are no wrong decisions”. The theory is, all choices, good or bad, will teach us to learn from them. This isn’t exactly accurate, but I’d like to refine that saying. A choice made in love will never be wrong. Because, really, how can we make a choice that would hurt others if it’s made in love? If we put love first, we also put humanity first. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Do everything in love.” With this idea, of choosing all of your life to be ingrained in love, will we be living in a way we would want to be remembered by? I know I will. As another year comes again to quickly pass us by, take time to think about if you are living in love with each choice you make. A Prayer of Love Lord, change our hearts. Help us see the vision of your creation The vision of love Help us to be rooted, grounded, in your love To pour it out to others Amen Delaney Lim
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