Day 4: True Love
Lord, may these children love one another. For we know that love is from You, and everyone who loves is born of You and knows You, for You are love. 1 John 4:7-8
In Jesus Name, Amen.
Love is a very misunderstood word. For the past year and a half, our three-year-old has been transitioning from Chinese to English. She has amazed me! She caught on quickly and used words in the right context. One of the first sentences she learned to say was “I love you.” It didn’t take long because she heard it over and over again from all seven of us. But recently, as she was with me in the kitchen preparing dinner, I said, “Oh, Sally! Try this! Mama loves this!”
There it was, that LOVE word. Did I really want her to think I love that food the way I love her? Of course not. I regretted that I may have confused her definition of love. And yet, our society is confused all around us. Our society tells us that love is all about how we feel, love is about what others can do for us. But real love endures unpredictable feelings. Real love is a choice of attitude and action. Real love endures forever right along with faith and hope. Real love comes from God. May our children experience real love with God and others.
Update: Sally has now conquered English and really understands the love of a forever family. And now, she is showing that love to her new little brother, Charlie. Charlie is still learning English and the impact of the words he hears and experiences. We have heard those precious words from him, almost daily–“I love you”–still mixed with a Chinese accent. But more importantly, he is learning that love really is action. When we first got Charlie (just 8 weeks ago) we had to teach him affection. He did not know how to kiss. At 2 and 1/2, he “kissed” like a four-month-old with the wide-opened mouth smooched to my cheek. Now, he relishes the hugs and kisses and offers them readily in return. One of my favorite expressions of his love is the way he likes to be carried. He wants to sit on my hip and look forward. He is anxious to take it all in and doesn’t want to miss a thing. But as he faces forward, he presses his cheek next to mine, the warmth of which is an expression of the safe, sweet place he has come to have. And so, we move about our day, taking in all the normal, new-to-him movements of the day, cheek to cheek. I know this time will be short-lived; a time is coming soon when he will leave my side and explore life on his own. But I believe in his heart he will remain to cheek to cheek with all of us. What an amazing work the Lord is doing. Please continue to pray for us, my friends. Here’s hoping that you , too, walk cheek to cheek with your kids and that we all will remain cheek to cheek with our perfect Heavenly Father.
