IF....THEN

Last week was challenging for me in the patience department.  I felt easily frustrated and exhausted by the constant movement....whining...the spitting (yes, we regressed)...the constant following and calling, "Mommy...mooommmmy....MOOOMMMYY!!!"

I was missing something. I was trying to be calm and patient on my own and let's be honest- that will never happen.

This week was different. God is teaching me that while it is important to guide and train our children...all of that is for nothing without LOVE. 

I so appreciate it when God gives us IF...THEN verses!

1 Corinthians 13

"IF I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

IF I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

IF I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

This next part is what I need to memorize so that I can be reminded of what love IS and what it IS NOT. 

Love IS patient, love IS kind.

It DOES NOT envy, it DOES NOT boast, it IS NOT proud.  It DOES NOT dishonor others, 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.
 
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

What is cool to me is that love in these verses is not a feeling...it is an action. Wait...are we sensing a theme here? See the verse at the top of this blog? 

Thank you, God, for being patient with me as I constantly re-learn your purpose for my life and the life of our family!