What Love Is...Is Yours?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NIV Translation

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Wow, that’s some pretty powerful and convicting reading there, isn’t it? How does your love stack up to those attributes listed in the Word?

I know that I miss on many counts. Patience is not something I’ve ever had, no matter what is involved. I have tried to get better (without praying for it!), but very rarely am I truly patient. I try to be kind, but what seems kind to me might feel completely different to the other person. What I mean for good, maybe they take for bad. I’m not sure how to respond to the boasting and proud part. I don’t feel like I’m prideful or have anything to boast about.

I am blunt, but sometimes it comes out sounding rude when that is nowhere near how it was intended. Unfortunately, there are times that I am rude on purpose. I lash out at those that hurt me, hurting them, and it just causes more hurt all the way around. I try not to be selfish, but feel often like if anybody is going to care about me it has to be me or it won’t happen. I guess that is a wrong attitude to have because it makes me close myself off to other people, people that truly do care about the real me. I have a temper; sometimes it is all out there and sometimes it is brooding. It is there nonetheless. I shouldn’t be so quick to anger. I should try not to let things hurt me. I should work harder to remember the good things and not hold onto the hurtful things. Sometimes it seems that all I can remember are the bad things. I don’t want it to be this way, but this one seems out of my hands much of the time.

I do not want bad things to happen to those that I love and try to protect them from hurt. The truth hurts sometimes, but I would rather have the truth than live a lie. I don’t like fake. I have a hard time with trust. Years of hurt make it hard to trust, even those that I love fiercely. I am working on that. Hope…that left a long time ago, but I am working on it. I still remember all those years ago having hope for a happily-ever-after, then life and heartaches of various types interrupted that dream for all of us.

Perseverance…all I can say to that one is, I’m still here and still love the one that I have always loved, chinks in the armor and all. But, my love sure misses on a lot of points stated up there in the Love Chapter. Looks like I have some work to do.

What about you?