Taken Care Of by Susan L.

  Once again, the Lord has met me where I am at. Unfortunately, someone had to get the flu for Home Church to be cancelled last night. It meant a quiet evening for me. Exactly what I needed although there was a bit of a flurry trying to get the family Christmas get together arranged. That took a fair bit of back and forth texts before a date was finalized.
  I managed to get one more illustration done for church yesterday and started writing the final piece on Love. It's hard to wrap my head around "Love According to God" because it's so far removed from any earthly love I've experienced. It makes me kind of sad yet glad at the same time because in true God fashion, He is redeeming the good parts and helping me toss away the not so good parts. 
  It's sad too, how love is corrupted. Mind you, broken people can only love brokenly. That includes me. I was only able to love according to how I learned to love. Praise God, that this is changing!
  It feels like I've come full circle. When I first began my walk as a Christian, the wonderful people who led me to the Lord suggested doing a Bible Study on the word "love", to read each scripture over and over until I "got it". Embarking on this quest, I admit it felt more like a punishment, it quickly revealed I only knew what love wasn't. Still extremely raw and vulnerable after the breakup of my marriage I stopped because I wasn't in a place, nor did I have the supports, to handle the grief stirred up by this study.
  Love cannot exist outside of relationship. Yes, reading the Manual helps. It seeds the heart and mind with God's way of loving. He is patiently chipping away at the obstacles that stop me from being able to live in and through His kind of love.
  I'm not there yet. There is still fear. There is still mistrust. Hmmm, maybe it's discernment. Not everyone is trust worthy.
  To say writing about love has been challenging is an understatement. Lord, help me not colour Your truth with my own understandings. Let Your true and purest of loves shine through and reach the hearts of those who will hear what You have to say. Help them embrace Your love. Thank You for giving me this opportunity to grow and learn and learn to lean on You.
  "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." 1 Tim 6:12