This summer my life has been themed around redefining what love is. Everything in our culture screams that love is merely a feeling, something that comes and goes, something that you "fall out of", something to say to someone to get them to do something, something that is ultimately weak. But this new kind of love that I've been learning about this summer is not that kind of love. It is the agape kind. The 1 Corinthians 13 kind. The patient, kind, humble, respectful, selfless, forgiving, honest, committed kind of love. I don't know about you, but this is the kind of love that I hunger for and want to do. I want to love my husband and children with this kind of love.
All these patient, kind, selfless, not easily angered, etc. aspects of love are hard to do. For so long I would find excuses not to exercise this kind of love. I would tell myself, "I am just not a patient person." or "They are just exasperating; it's their fault I snapped at them". GARBAGE! These characteristics are not a definition of a person. They are definitely not easy to put into practice. However, they are certainly skills that I have to work at every single day.I have been working on a weekly basis on improving in these areas. This week I am really focusing on patient and active listening. Wow- I can't even begin to tell you how hard it is. I catch myself 10 times a day doing exactly the opposite of active love- impatiently snapping at them to hurry up and get dressed, interrupting them yet again because they are taking to long to spit out what they were going to say,.... I could go on and on. I am continually reminded that I am a fallen human being who is not by nature patient. BUT God is redefining me. He is powerful and can work through me. Patient and active listening is a skill that I can put into practice and become better at. It is not good enough to just stay stagnant where I am using my excuses. My children, husband, students, family all deserve better. I pray that my family and I continue to grow and actively practice the 1 Corinthians Agape kind of love in our lives forever.
Note: As noted earlier this has been a summer revelation through a combination of influences. Josh and I participated in a Bible study this summer in our church. It was here that we started practicing putting an aspect of the 1 Corinthians kind of love in action each week. One week we would practice being not easily angered, the next we would practice patience. It had a huge impact on our marriage and family. Right as this Bible Study ended, I went to my school's back to school meeting where they had an excellent speaker talk about servant leadership. Since then I have been reading through his book, The Servant: A Simple Story about the True Essence of Leadership by James C. Hunter. I would highly recommend this book for those in leadership roles: supervisors, teachers, parents, ministry, etc. It is sure to redefine the way you think about yourself in relation to others and your job. :)
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