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Greetings!
"Practice kindly affection. Always take a generous, patient attitude. Practice consideration. Put the other person ahead of yourself... The love you give will return to you, and your spirit will be lifted to new levels." - Norman Vincent Peale
 Love so patient, love so kind, love so strong! The expression of love and our actions of love are the essence of the strongest emotion we hold. All summer long it seems that I am reminded of love in every area of my life: in my home life with family, through my extended family of relatives, in my neighborhood, with friends near and far, at reunions, in my church community, and at work with my colleagues. Each of these share one thing in common - love! Love for another and love of the experience we are in.
There have been celebrations galore. Most of them happy celebrations as we come together to embrace each other and share in our milestones of life: a birthday, anniversary, graduation, wedding, or for no specific reason other than appreciation and desire for being with one another. Then there are those unexpected moments when we celebrate the life of a loved one lost. Yet even in these solemn moments of missing the one called home to the Lord, love soars! Our love of the Lord our God and His love for us surrounds and comforts us like a warm blanket.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength." - Deuteronomy 6:15
Love is not singular - it is effervescent and multi-faceted. In love there exists compassion, support, faith, determination, passion, tolerance, deep affection and so much more. In the Bible Jesus teaches us to love through His unconditional love for us. Many of us want to love someone only if that person will love them back. How do we love without expectation? We learn this by acting on giving our love in a compassionate way. When we pray for another, this is a way we can give our love unconditionally. Prayer is a form of this unconditional love. You may also see someone through Gods loving eyes.
God Is Patient - "Sometimes you may feel as if your prayers are not answered. Rest-assured God is working mightily on your behalf,", says Norman Vincent Peale.
CLICK HERE to read what he has to say about God's patience.
Have you ever had one of those moments when you catch someone through the corner of your eye - and you see their innocence and feel their soul. It is as if this total stranger is no stranger at all, but your own brother, your own sister! I catch a them in my travels: sitting on a bus and I wonder where are you going, where have you been? I see a young man eating a sandwich and I ask myself, who made that for you because I can see with each bite you are feeling deep love, or is there a hunger I sense that is not being satisfied - an emptiness? I notice a gentle man washing the windows in the hotel lobby and he is doing this task with great pleasure as he whistles and I can feel the extraordinary pride in his work - where are you from and who taught you this precious virtue.
"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" -John 1:34
Practice pure loving kindness for another - compassion beyond words. And if you happen to make eye contact with someone, smile, say hello, or offer a kind word like 'good job'. God teaches us to do this and we see this throughout the Bible with countless stories of how Jesus shared simple acts of kindness, love and compassion. It doesn't take much for us to bring this behavior into our everyday lives.
"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love."
-Psalm 103:8
Try this - try stopping for even a few seconds to notice your brothers and sisters for a glimpse into the faces of their extraordinary lives. When you take time to do this, you will feel love well up in your heart, and compassion will take over in a way that may surprise you. Whether you have done this before or not, I promise that you will be amazed each time. It will take your breath away when you notice another and allow love to enter into your heart. There is something magical about stopping for a few seconds to feel compassion and love for someone you may not even know or ever see again.
If you can feel this for a complete stranger, imagine this depth of feeling for our loved ones. When was the last time you spoke with someone significant in your life? Time passes so quickly and we lose track of how long ago it really was that we reached out to someone we really care so much about. Love can be expressed in our actions. Call that friend today or send a note to let that special person know: I care about you and I love you!
"Do something every day for as many people as you can, never expect anything in return. Be actively helpful just because it is the kindly and Christian thing to do."
- Norman Vincent Peale
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