I [love] you...

Ever said those words? I do all the time. Do I mean it? According to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, this is what I am promising. If this isn't convicting, I don't know what is. I [will be patient and kind to] you. I [will not envy] you; I [will not boast to] you. I [will not be arrogant or rude to] you. I [will not force my opinion onto] you. I [will not be irritable or resentful toward] you. I [will not make fun or gloat over failures because of] you; I [will rejoice over successes and good decisions for] you. I [will bear whatever burdens you carry with] you, I [will believe the best about] you, I [will never give up on] you, I [will endure whatever comes my way because of] you. I [LOVE] you! I have a really hard time with being patient and kind, let alone both at the same time - being kind while being patient with young children who can make anything take f--o--r--e--v--e--r is difficult And I'm sometimes bad at the not envying part - when Dave gets to do something fun and I stay home with the kids...again And with the not boasting part - when I do something that I think you should notice And with not being arrogant - putting your desires ahead of mine is really hard And not being rude - why is it that I think the people who love me the most don't need any consideration? Seems like they should get the most, but I seem to forget that so often And I'm pretty much never irritable... HA!! Ever laughed when someone you love did something stupid or embarrassing? Me too. Make them feel better or worse? yeah, that wasn't my goal either. Usually we're pretty good at rejoicing when someone does right, unless it exposes something in myself that I am not doing right And it just keeps going! If "love is all you need" how come marriages don't last? And siblings argue and children don't speak to their parents? And if I love my husband and my kids, why do I get frustrated at them, and why do I frustrate them? Because my love doesn't look like the example Christ set, and Paul explains in depth here. It's hard to set aside our desires and carry someone else's burden, and it's easy to assume the worst about someone's motives instead of giving them the benefit of the doubt. We give up on people who don't see from our point of view, and we definitely don't endure a difficult confrontation in order to save a relationship. It's just plain overwhelming to think of the times I've failed to love Dave, or my kids, even in the middle of saying the words "I love you." I'm going to work on developing my actions that say "I love you" in order to prove that I mean what I say. Maybe by the end of the month I can have a good habit started! But the only way I can truly love is by reminding myself of the One who loves me perfectly and looking to His example. That is the only thing that can motivate me to keep acting out love when I run out of the feeling. "We love Him because He first loved us." and "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."