What is the meaning of life? How many times have I heard that? I figured it out. It's love. The meaning of life is to pour yourself out with love until you're empty and then letting God fill you back up again. How many of us have found an incredible joy that comes with giving of ourselves? That joy that far surpasses getting the new shoes or even the new car. Ya, that's great, new shoes are AWESOME, but the joy only lasts as far as it takes to get them from the store to my house. My floor is scattered with shoes that I saw and said, "I gotta have them." I've been known to go back home from a shopping trip and go back out to town just to get those shoes. And then, there they lay like a big pile of leather and dust. The joy doesn't last and it's certainly meaningless for the brief time that it exists.
But love, now that's a different story altogether. My landlord came up to dig up some seedlings from my yard the other day and even though she's a complete..uh um (clears her throat)..thorn in my side, pain in my "bekind," bur under my saddle, I still get immense joy from helping her carry her tools and helping her do her little deeds. She locked her keys in the trunk and I had to get them out for her. What a complete joy it was to help her. When she left, I was left with that residual joy and love. It's a joy that's with me now as I think back on it. However, if I were to get up and walk into my room and gaze upon those many shoes that I just had to have, I'd feel nothing except the need to arrange them neatly so I don't trip over them.
The meaning of life is love. This is what we're here for. To do whatever it takes to be there for others and show them whatever love they need. To comfort, hug, praise, or encourage. Whatever someone needs. And it can't be done with resentment. If you begrudge the deed you're doing then it's a blemished sacrifice unto the Lord.
I love giving of myself. I also know the difference (through my powers of discernment) between someone who truly needs me and someone seeking to get what they can from a kind person. In that case, I have enough love not play into their game, thereby enabling them. I have enough love not to help them fail at another opportunity to do right for themselves.
I don't let people disgrace or dishonor the love God has placed in my heart. I don't wield it like an ungainly sword, thrashing about hoping to hit anything in my path with a God smack. No, I discern the spirits in men/women. I be attainable, accessible. I'm an "if you need me, I'm here" kind of gal. And I mean it. I don't tell my family or friends to reach out to me so I can say, "let me call you later." I'm the one who turns the t.v. set off and gets somewhere quiet so I can pay close attention. The idea is to make someone know they're loved and what they're saying matters more than my own life or schedule. There's always someone that will try to abuse that goodness and use you as a dumping ground. For those folks, I give them time to rectify their selfishness and if they don't, I move on to people who truly seek love and kindness in a time of need and then appreciate you for being there.
The meaning of life is love. To love and not necessarily seek to be loved. To give without getting. To show the unlovable that they are loved by at least one person. It's a matter of being like unto the Lord and allowing Him free reign. It's a matter of opening the heart to others and understanding that the world doesn't evolve around me. If we couldn't love, we'd have no life and no meaning.
But love, now that's a different story altogether. My landlord came up to dig up some seedlings from my yard the other day and even though she's a complete..uh um (clears her throat)..thorn in my side, pain in my "bekind," bur under my saddle, I still get immense joy from helping her carry her tools and helping her do her little deeds. She locked her keys in the trunk and I had to get them out for her. What a complete joy it was to help her. When she left, I was left with that residual joy and love. It's a joy that's with me now as I think back on it. However, if I were to get up and walk into my room and gaze upon those many shoes that I just had to have, I'd feel nothing except the need to arrange them neatly so I don't trip over them.
The meaning of life is love. This is what we're here for. To do whatever it takes to be there for others and show them whatever love they need. To comfort, hug, praise, or encourage. Whatever someone needs. And it can't be done with resentment. If you begrudge the deed you're doing then it's a blemished sacrifice unto the Lord.
I love giving of myself. I also know the difference (through my powers of discernment) between someone who truly needs me and someone seeking to get what they can from a kind person. In that case, I have enough love not play into their game, thereby enabling them. I have enough love not to help them fail at another opportunity to do right for themselves.
I don't let people disgrace or dishonor the love God has placed in my heart. I don't wield it like an ungainly sword, thrashing about hoping to hit anything in my path with a God smack. No, I discern the spirits in men/women. I be attainable, accessible. I'm an "if you need me, I'm here" kind of gal. And I mean it. I don't tell my family or friends to reach out to me so I can say, "let me call you later." I'm the one who turns the t.v. set off and gets somewhere quiet so I can pay close attention. The idea is to make someone know they're loved and what they're saying matters more than my own life or schedule. There's always someone that will try to abuse that goodness and use you as a dumping ground. For those folks, I give them time to rectify their selfishness and if they don't, I move on to people who truly seek love and kindness in a time of need and then appreciate you for being there.
The meaning of life is love. To love and not necessarily seek to be loved. To give without getting. To show the unlovable that they are loved by at least one person. It's a matter of being like unto the Lord and allowing Him free reign. It's a matter of opening the heart to others and understanding that the world doesn't evolve around me. If we couldn't love, we'd have no life and no meaning.
