I have a lot to say.
This might be long.
(Okay, it is long.)
Thursday nights have been one of my favorite nights for the last two years...Thursday nights means hanging out with my bible study girls...Thursday nights means dinners out...Thursday nights means laughter...Thursday nights (sometimes) means tears...Thursday nights means...family. In the two years we've been together, we've walked an untold amount of miles next to one another. We had job changes, promotions, degrees conferred, exciting transitions, moves, surgeries, adventures and even faced the reality of the death of loved ones. We've walked a lot of life together...and I know have many, many more journeys ahead of us...
In short...My GBS girls are the ones that challenge me and demand that I don't suck.
A tradition of sorts that we have started is Journey Updates. (Quasi-) Stolen from different bible study that another girl and myself were a part of several years ago, we spend one night a month learning about the journey of one of our own. We know each other well, but because many in our group are transplants to Nashville, we don't always know what life lessons have lead us to where we are now. We learn the serious (what's God doing in your life right now) and the ridiculous (ninjas or pirates and what's your favorite font) and the personal (what's your relationship like with your family).
All of that to say...last week was my turn...
Before I get into that, know that my teaching experiences have put a desire in me to love my students well...wherever they are in life. This has been a huge lesson God's placed on my heart and I've been working through over the last year.
I was sharing about this journey of learning to love well on Thursday night. Wondering out loud if the words I say or the actions people see me do show them that I desire to love well. How do I make others feel when I ask for updates of things that are going on with them? How do I make others feel when I don't? What do I do on a daily basis that shows people I want to love well? What do I do on a daily basis that is the total opposite that shows no desire to love well? How far does a text message or a phone call saying I'm thinking about you and (fill in the blank with whatever is happening in their world? Words can be awkward...they can be difficult to put into place like you want them to sound...words can make a world of difference. I know they do for me.
Someone the other day (I don't remember who...sorry) retweeted a quote from "DailyKeller" that said:
"Not everyone is your brother or sister in the faith, but everyone is your neighbor. And you must love your neighbor."
(I LOVED this...so I retweeted it myself.)
Love your neighbor...if everyone is your neighbor...that means...
Love those that fix your $6 coffee at Starbucks and forget that one extra sugar...
Love your roommate that empties the dishwasher...
Love your friend that says, "I'll help you clean up the kitchen" instead of sitting and watching you do it all on your own...
Love the lady that scans your groceries and looks flustered with life...
Love your family...
Love your newspaper guy that can't seem to toss the newspaper onto the drive way...
Love your people at work...
BUT WHY?
Because you never, never know what someone is going through.
Your kind word, your extra patience, your smile, your loving them as a neighbor...that may be all that gets them through today.
Learning to love well...it is a journey.
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