Love Comes to Life

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)- And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


I strained a muscle in my back and went to bed grumpy and woke up grumpier.  I wanted to be selfish and lazy and wished I could have an entire day to only take care of myself.  Instead, I needed to dress my little one and take off to watch my teenager play in a softball tournament.  My husband needed to do chores and would meet us there later.  
I went through a drive thru on the way for breakfast and I truly appreciated the coffee and food prepared by someone else.  Soon, I began to feel a little more able to take on the day, but I winced when I heard on the radio that the heat index would be well over 100 for the day.
We got to the tournament and saw friends to watch the game with.  Maycee was happy with the special breakfast food and the sky was overcast and there was even a bit of a breeze.  There was a playground not far from the field and before long we walked over so she could play.  I could still watch the game a little bit, but I tried doing too many things at once.  I was talking to a friend with one eye on the game and suddenly I saw Maycee lying flat on the ground from a big fall.  I went over to help her and thankfully she was okay.  This was the biggest blessing among many in the day.  I began to focus more on her.  Sooner than expected, I saw Mark arriving.
He helped watch her for the second game so I went to sit for awhile, which was a nice break. My back was sore, but somewhere within me I could feel my crabbiness lifting.  The second game ended and we discovered there would be a two hour break before the next game.  I talked with Mark about our plan for the break.  He said he would like to stay and watch the games.  I asked if he minded watching Maycee while I went to swim.  The break coincided with adult swim and I thought the water might loosen up my back.  He said that would be fine and I excitedly drove away, more than ready for the time alone.  As I was driving, I heard the song ‘Love Come to Life’.
‘Bring Your love to life inside of me
Why don't You break my heart 'til it moves my hands and feet
For the hopeless and the broken
For the ones that don't know that You love them
Bring Your love to life inside of me’


It was the song I needed to hear to put my day into perspective. I‘m pretty good at talking about God’s love and this song reminded me that I needed to put that love into action.  I started praying the lyrics over and over.
‘Love come to life
Love come to life
Bring love to life inside of me’


I spent the next hour at the pool talking to God with these lyrics running through my mind and some times of quiet and stillness.  I got out of the pool with my back feeling better and my mind and heart too.  I went to the store for some lunch and headed back to the game.  Maycee was covered in mud, but I had more energy to take care of it.  Then we spread out a blanket and had a little picnic.  The day did not start out feeling like a picnic so it felt special to have that moment with her.  
Joyce Meyers says,”I believe the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you.”  I have to agree.  Today I needed a little break to be able to be there for my family.  Sometimes I have to ask for one.  That can take putting my pride aside and being an inconvenience and I don’t always like to do that.  
Taking care of myself and doing my best to love and care for my family are big, important jobs and they take work and prayer.  I am amazed and so appreciative of the people I know doing bigger, more important things around the world to help, but sometimes that can make me feel like I’m not doing enough. I found one pastor’s interesting thoughts on the importance of doing our best right where we are.  His opinions are based on Ephesians:
“The Christian life is not about going someplace for Jesus or doing great things for him. It is being holy right where we are. It is loving our brothers and sisters in our churches. It is being faithful to our family obligations. It is working hard at our vocations. In a fallen world, if we do this, we are being radical enough.”
To back this up, Mother Teresa, who is well-known for her work around the world, said, “ What can we do to promote world peace?  Go home and love our family.”
I continue to look for ways I can help others, but I am reassured today that loving my family well is also a great, important mission.  God may give me a nudge towards other things, but for now this is what He has given me to focus on and I pray to do it well.   I can be holy right where I am.  I pray I can show my family I love them not just with words, but with actions.

Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."

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