For The Reward

Just a little update post surgery: this week I got a brand new cast which feels a lot better than the previous one. It's not very attractive, and I may look like a transformer or a power ranger, but this one is waterproof, a lot smaller, and I'm able to do a lot more things with it. So I'll be able to surf, swim and even go back down the hill of death (sorry Mom and Dad). I have to go back to the hospital tomorrow to get an update on my wrist, but I haven't been in much pain at all which is surprising, but I'm very grateful for that. This Sunday we're having a sort of "fundraiser" for our outreach trip. Which I found out a couple weeks ago that we are going to Indonesia! Don't leave until May, but really looking forward to that. So Sunday we will be teaching surf lessons and cooking food in order to raise money for the trip. Since I can't get my cast fully in the water for two more weeks, I'll be in charge of preparing the food. And if you know me at all, you know that I cannot cook. Whatsoever. Hoping I'll be able to make a decent hot dog, but no promises. 

I've come to see this week the role that love plays in our lives. In every kind of way, shape and form. How much we want it, need it, and depend on it. How we hold back from it, numb our hearts to it, invest too much in it, or completely surrender ourselves to it. A love for another person, a daughter, a son, family, friends, anyone. Love applies to all these kinds of relationships, and ultimately, all forms of love should lead to the same feeling, only wanting the best for one another. 

When you are loved by someone, you have a choice to make. All of the choices you make impact the people around you, you can't live selfishly anymore. There is no taking into "consideration" other peoples feelings, there is only acting justly upon how the other person will feel. It comes with a price. You have to be selfless, and you might have to sacrifice things important to you, and you might have to think of someone else more than yourself. But, I've come to realize that we should want to do that. We should want to make others feel that way, not because it'll satisfy us or make us feel better about ourselves, but because it will satisfy someone else. And if you do it with love, that's a gratifying feeling in return. Making someone else proud, and making someone else feel that will outweigh the sacrifice every time. 

I think the word love has become abused. It's used in the wrong way, and not only that, but it has been used to manipulate. And that use has shaped our minds into thinking that manipulation is the strongest power love holds. If I'm honest, I completely fell into that manipulation, that skewed view, and I definitely lived life with a numb heart because of it. I loved, but I guarded myself from feeling a lot of things in return. And it affected relationships with my family, friends, etc. I was completely lost on what "love" looked like. And that's where I think it becomes a problem of this world. Has the word love lost its meaning? Do we throw it around too often? Or not enough? What DOES love look like? You cannot give to someone what you don't have. How are we supposed to inflict onto one another something we do not even understand or feel ourselves? We can't. And as common as it may be to some, the perfect example of how to love, and how to be loved is in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, "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. Love never fails". Dissect each sentence. That is truly all that love is. Short, but a perfectly portrayed explanation. And reading that, don't you feel like love can actually be really easy? Like I said earlier, love is wanting to do all these things for one another. It is so fiercely caring for one another, forgiving each other when it seems impossible to do so, treating one another with pure gentleness, being genuinely proud of ones accomplishments, refusing to give up in midst of disappointment, sacrificing your desires for another, and it is tremendously rewarding. You'll see that in the end, when you learn to truly love unconditionally, you'll end up sacrificing nothing at all, but truly gaining much more in return. The more you understand the depth of love, the more you'll want to act this way. And the easier it will become. 

I guess love is the main root in which builds us into being greater people. Love is one characteristic that is able to relate to every emotion. It is at the core of every feeling. It's the one thing that has a captive hold onto us and an aggressive power over us. And with that being said, represent it gracefully. Use it carefully. Say it only when you understand it truthfully, and mean it sincerely. For it truly is a blessed thing to love, and a blessed thing to feel loved in return.