LOVE

I hope this doesn't sound too much like a bunch of random thoughts crammed together. This was just my attempt at forcing a chapter full of thoughts onto just a couple pages. So enjoy, and I hope you are blessed.

The more I come to understand marriage and being a parent the more I understand and appreciate God. Ideas like love, sacrifice, joy, suffering, and many more, become more real to me the closer I get to those I love. Yes, I mentioned suffering in there. The fact is, when we love someone we will inevitably suffer at times because of that love. Love is a risk, but when done right, it is well worth it. When you love feelings get hurt, painful experiences are shared, pains and aches are felt even when they're not your own, and the loss of someone's life burns that much deeper. We all know this but we chase after love anyway. Why? Because when you're loved hurt feelings are mended, there's a shoulder to cry on when you need it, the burden of your aches and pains don't have to be carried alone, when you lose someone close there is someone to hold and comfort you, and because there is no feeling in the world that compares to it. We were made to love. The problem we face today is that we have many false views of love. Love is considered giving your child whatever they want. Love is considered trying to be your child's best friend. Love is considered getting involved with someone sexually (outside of marriage). Love is considered to be something that is all about ME. When my "relationship" is focused around me and what I want then it just doesn't seem to work out right. So we need to rethink LOVE. What does it mean to love someone? How do we go about doing it? The answer is simple: SACRIFICE. To many people the word sacrifice sounds like a four letter word. That is until someone sacrifices something for them. See what I mean by our relationships are "focused around me". If we profit then sacrifice is good, if others are profitting at our expense then it's bad. I have found that the more I sacrifice in my relationship with my wife and with my daughter, the more I gain. I may not always FEEL like getting off the couch and playing with Miranda but when I do I never regret it. I may not always FEEL like going out of my way to do something nice for my wife but I'm always glad when I do. If you haven't seen the movie Fireproof it does an excellent job of portraying how much sacrifice can change your life for the better. Love and sacrifice. In all reality you can't do one without the other. For that very reason many marriages now end in divorce because most people get married these days thinking about what they're going to get out of it instead of what they're going to contribute to it. God has been trying to teach us this principle since the beginning but many of us have gotten to busy to listen. We are so busy trying to please ourselves that like C.S. Lewis once wrote "we are...like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." We settle for so little when God has offered so much. Learn how to make sacrifices for the ones you love, to contribute instead of just seeing what's in it for you, and you will start to see that there is something far better planned for you than just playing with mud pies.