Love Me Do

My home improvement to do list is nearly empty! I can hardly believe so much got done in such a short period of time. What an amazing blessing people who love you can be!

There really haven't been a lot of them, but I guess I'm coming to grips with the fact that people will love you for different things and in different ways. Some will love you actively, and others will love you passively. There will be love that is spoken, and love that is demonstrated.

But none of that love is invalid.

What is finally dawning on me is that love is more than what we're expecting or even think we're needing at the moment.

Because of my dire straits these last few weeks, I've had my focus on "real" love being demonstrated in action. A few people have blessed me with gifts and labor and active encouragment. And that's been phenomenal - a literal lifeline in the hardest season of my life. But I finally understand that they are not the complete list of people who love me.

There's no greater love than when a sacrifice is made (John 15:13), like God demonstrating His love for us when Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). But that's not the only way love is shown. Love can also be demonstrated with words alone. John said it's not ideal (1John 3:18), but it is love nevertheless.

One song that has never failed to make me cry is "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin. The father and son in the song loved each other, but life and choices always kept them apart. That's what makes the song so sad - looking at two lives where love always goes undemonstrated.

As I spend these last four days in Cheyenne, my emotions swelling more with every hour, I have to believe that the many people who have simply said they love me - demonstrating it with nothing more than their words - actually do.

_______________________________

PS: A big shout-out to daily readers Ron and Patrice - thanks for lunch yesterday guys! Hey Ron - you finally got mentioned in a blog!