Love is....

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

Last night, Micah and I got into an argument. It was over something so petty and little but it blew up into something that kept escalating. Instead of letting it grow and keep on going, Micah stopped it. He picked up his Bible and some dry erase markers and led me into the bathroom. We then broke down the verse above. Love is patient, love is kind... after we took this picture, we kept going with it and by the time we were finished, the mirror was completely full, except for inside of the heart.

We rarely argue anymore. When we were first married, we fought a lot. So I think it took us both by surprise when we both got so angry last night. And then even more surprising at how hurtful we can be.

Sometimes we don't realize how we treat the people we love or come across through our every day life. Friends, family, children, salespeople in stores, solicitors on the phone, neighbors or even people that are mean to us first. And its even easier to hurt those who are closest to us. We take their love for granted.

This verse does not just apply to married people. This applies to everyone. Take a step back and see how you act during the day. Try to be a bit more patient if your children are taking their time doing something and you are in a hurry. Try to smile even if you are in a long line at the store and help out the clerk who is grouchy and stressed out. If you get a solicitor on the phone, go out of your way to be polite. If you have a close friend who you just feel out of touch with in general, send them a note. Its not about how they treat you, its about how you show love yourself.

I could have kept going with this but for some reason I stopped. Just something to think about.