Love
has a lot to do with it.
With
only twelve days left (at the time I wrote this) on the World Race, I’ve been
pondering the lessons I’ve learned the last eleven months. One of, if not the biggest lesson I’ve
learned this past year on the World Race, is how to love and allow myself to be
loved by others.
“You will be known by
how well you love others.”
Everyone
grows up with a desire to love and be loved.
Its an inherent longing placed within the depths of each of our
souls. And its important to note, I’m
not just talking about that mushy, gushy kind of love. It goes much deeper than that. Nowadays, Hollywood, our experience within
our family, our relationships with others, society and the like, all create an
understanding of what we believe love to mean. Although we grow up with an understanding of
what love is, society and our past experiences don’t always paint the most
truthful picture of what it should feel or look like. Sadly, we live in a fallen world corrupted by
sin, which has caused us all to misunderstand what love really is, what it
means to love ourselves and also extend that love to others. Below are some blurbs from fellow racers of
what love means to them.
“Baby,
dont hurt me.” – Raj
“Sacrifice. You have to choose in every day. To choose to
put someone above yourself.” – Tommy
“Jesus.” – Hannah
“Selflessness.” – Alicia
“Self-sacrifice
beyond your comfort zone. Love is
tearing down your prideful walls and giving the other person everything youve
got.” – Celeste
Like
everyone else, Ive struggled with the meaning of love, but these past eleven
months have completely redefined and challenged my view of what it means to
love and be loved. I made a pretty
extensive list of what love looks like and how we can accomplish maintaining
love in our everyday relations with people, but Ive only included several in
this blog and an example of how it has been a part of my Race.
– Learn
to love who you were created to be FIRST
o
Someone
once posed the question, “How can you love someone else that isn’t perfect when
you cant even love yourself?” I’ve
learned that until we fall head over heels in love with the person we were made
to be, imperfections and all, it is impossible to try to love someone
else.
– Sacrifice
of self & Desire to put others first
o
The
sacrifice that I’ve witnessed from our contacts around the world is
unbelievable. The extent to which people
have sacrificed for us has challenged me to desire to implement the same
discipline within my own relationships.
I will never forget Pastor Moses and his family in Rwanda who gave up
their entire house for the month to allow 15 of us to stay there. The women sacrificed so much time to wash our
laundry and cook us three meals a day.
Without hesitation, our contacts here in Romania have gone above and
beyond to make our last month a blessed and relaxing one. The church here has worked together to make
sure we had meals for free, and to know the sacrifice they made in finances and
time just to bless us has made us feel extremely loved.
– Honest,
loving communication
o
We
give feedback on the World Race. Lots of
it. Sometimes, it can be very difficult to open up and share your heart,
especially when its in a moment of giving constructive feedback, but in
expressing the hard things, we are able to love each other well. Calling each other into greatness and helping
someone you care about become a better person is one of the best ways you can
love them genuinely.
– Willingness
to overcome challenges & fight for the relationship
– Operate
in high grace and forgive, both yourself and others
o
So,
I have a beloved sister on the World Race named Morgan who is from Texas. One fine evening in Rwanda, we got into a
discussion of who had the best Mexican food, Arizona or Texas. The discussion soon turned into a debate
about who had the best burritos to the fact that queso is not really Mexican
and was invented in America. It began to
get somewhat heated and as soon as we realized it, we immediately walked
outside to talk and laugh about it, while apologizing all at the same
time. Although it was a silly debate
gone wrong, we still took the time to make sure we were on good terms because
we love each other! Morgan, I still
forgive you for not believing that Arizona has the best Mexican food. 😉
– Trust
and be vulnerable
o
With
vulnerability, trust grows. As K-Squad, we
started the World Race back in July at training camp, not knowing anyone. Over the past year, weve had to learn to
trust complete strangers and share our hearts with one another, which has
resulted in the family we now have. Some
have even shared testimonies and secrets in which have never been shared
before, but this vulnerability is what has opened up the door to intimacy
within our relationships with one another.
– Eyes
that look past imperfections
o
The
more you get to know people, the more their imperfections show. Every relationship, no matter what type, goes
through a honeymoon phase where perfection is all your eyes can see. After spending time with people, you begin to
realize that we all have something we need to work on. No one is perfect, which is why we should
make every effort to celebrate the person for who they are.
– A
heart to help each other grow & speak the hard things (Eliminate criticism)
– Nurture
THEIR dreams
– Express
gratitude, acknowledge efforts and never forget to extend positive affirmation
– Spend
quality time with each other, but understand the need for space
– Always
put God first and HE will show you how to love.
The
blood stained cross of Jesus is the perfect image of love. God resembles love in a way that is
impossible to recreate. But, with effort
and intention, as human beings we can strive to love in ways that speak volumes
to those around us.
