Since Mom’s death, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on how she expressed love to those she came in contact with over the years. She was the one who taught me that love never ends. She wasn’t perfect, but over and over she lived as an example of Jesus’s love for all of us.
Watching her with her grandchildren you would see love ooze out of her. That was easy. Her love also showed up on holidays when someone outside the family had no where else to go. Our table was open. She forgave those who hurt her. She was always willing to give someone another chance. She was there for family and friends in times of need. She always showed up even when it was inconvenient.
To her love was sacrificial. If you needed something that she had, she gave it to you. Money, furniture, it was yours. It was important to her that her family have what they needed. She would do anything she could to prevent us from suffering or going without. When I was in college, she would always make sure I had some extra food or new sweater to look nice at work.
She was always on the lookout for items that others might need or enjoy. She loved giving gifts. Even last minute additions to Christmas would magically have something under the tree. She would say, “Everyone should have something to open.” She did her best to live this scripture.
3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end. 8Love never dies. (1 Corinthians 13: 3-8 MSG)
Her example of loving like Jesus lives on in us. I hear her in my head reminding me that love never ends, reminding me what she would do, reminding me what Jesus would do.
How do you express that love never ends? Are you wiling to sacrifice for love? Are you willing to be inconvenienced by love? Share your experience here and breathe life and bring hope to others.