some things i need to remind myself of

real love is unconditional.

it is not based on emotion. it is not contingent on the actions of others, while it itself is best expressed by action. true love is unshakable. it is the most powerful thing of all.

love hurts. it is not easy. Christ died for us out of love. out of the desire for us to be nearer to our Father. love was reason enough for God to become a man. love covers a multitude of sins. it keeps no record of wrong. what an idea…especially for us. us as small, wounded little creatures. what an idea to be loved like that…

we can’t love like this. and yet we are commanded to love ourselves, love others like this. only He can through us. we are no more than vessels that all too often get in the way of it. we are selfish. we want everything now. we hurt ourselves, we hurt others – even when we don’t mean to because we can’t see what He sees in us. it can be one of the most difficult things for us to accept. the harder we fight it, the more tragic we become. but once we embrace it, once we allow it in little by little…oh, the beauty.

love heals. it doesn’t give up. it sustains us even in the darkest of times.

these are just some of the things i’ve learned in the last few years. it is everything to me. it was something that had been so warped, so destroyed for me…and yet He has opened my eyes to remarkable truths. and one of the central truths is that love is sacrifice.

love is everything.

sara

word of warning

you know when you pray for more patience? 

(some of you know where i’m going with this…)

if you haven’t already done it, typically what happens is when you pray for “more patience,” you actually get a plethora of opportunity to practice it. so, essentially….you won’t get a magical dose if patience, but you WILL get some annoying people or frustrating circumstances that will force you into either learning and exercising patience, or just cause you to lose your damn mind.

i’ve been there, done that. 

but it applies to everything else, too. for me, learning what His love is and how to express it…it just so happens the same deal applies. maybe it’s because of my past, maybe it’s because i’m such a hopeless romantic, but can’t help this fixation. so i pray to understand it, i pray to experience more if it, and what do i get?….the opportunity to practice. to learn. to be a vessel for it. and it is hard, yo. it’s not how you think it’s going to be. it’s really thinking about others and not yourself. it’s really expecting nothing in return, even when you have given all you have and are feeling completely and utterly empty. it’s all Christ did for us. it’s what we are supposed to do for each other. 

i didn’t realize what i was asking for all these years. and with each passing day, i’m feeling the beautiful agony of it more and more. 

sara