A few nights ago one of my friends on the squad asked if someone were to ask me the biggest lesson I’ve learned this year how would I respond.
These are the types of questions I dread…the ones that I know are coming once I return home. They are loaded and make me anxious. How do I sum up the longest year of my life into one lesson? It seems impossible.
As I sat there carefully thinking about my answer only one word came to mind, love.
Love, it has been the cornerstone of every situation and encounter I’ve had this year.
I know it seems cliché and very bible school of me to answer love when I’m on a “mission trip” around the world; however, it’s the truth.
What I knew of love prior to this year was just a small portion to the depth and mystery of what it means to truly love, both giving and receiving.
True love is untamed, selfless, unconditionally generous, humbling, scary, thrilling, and most of all active. Love in action produces a life full of adventure and whimsy. To an outsider that has never experienced this type of love a person may seem insane, but that’s the beauty of love. Our Savior went against the norm by pushing the boundaries on what it meant to love and for that was considered a foolish rebel. But through it all He continued to love.
There have been times this year that it has been hard to love. Living in community can make you want to feel and express anything but love. The truth is the body of Christ is comprised of humans with flaws and annoyances and living in community enhances all of those things. But through those annoyances and moments of frustration I have slowly been refined. I have gradually learned what it means to love.
Despite the words or actions of another I want to love. Despite language and cultural barriers I want to love. Despite any external circumstances I want to simply LOVE.
True love is revolutionary, it is an adventure!
I’ve found for myself that I can only truly love when I am fully myself without any façades. It’s risky and often scary but it’s worth it! It’s what we all were created to do.
God is continuously teaching me what love really means.
Remember love is never stationary, it simply does. As Bob Goff says on the cover of his book Love Does, when one operates out of love they will discover a secretly incredible life in an ordinary world.
This is a life one can never leave, and I've found that we shouldn't want it any other way.
“But the kind of love that God created and demonstrated is a costly one because it involves sacrifice and presence. It's a love that operates more like a sign language than being spoken outright.” – Bob Goff, Love Does
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