Thinking about Love

I like thinking about love, not necessarily romantic love, though that is fun to think about as well. I like thinking about how to love people.

I was reading earlier today that an author of a book called More Than Good Intentions signs his book, Heart + Mind = Good Giving. I think the same can be said of love. It's easy to think that just because I like someone that loving that person well will just flow naturally out of me (and yes in some ways it does), but loving a person well takes a lot more than just having nice feelings about an individual; I need my heart combined with my mind to love well.

I need to think about a person's needs, interest, history, comfort, mood. Some days it is nice to connect with a friend through a good conversation, but other days, well, a game of volleyball would be just as nice. Sometimes a friend needs a lot and sometimes a friend doesn't need much at all.

So how do I love well? I enage my heart, and I engage my mind. I watch to see how best I can show kindness, but ultimately, there's much I don't know about the people I interact with. This loss of knowing means that I pray much too.

This morning I knew I would see a friend, and so as I thought about her as I was getting ready for the day--I prayed, "Lord, give me your wisdom to love ___________ in just the ways she needs to be loved today."

I didn't see my friend for as long as I expected, and the only thing I ended up really communicating with her was a silly story about how I accidently spat toothpaste on my mom's arm (my mom reached across the sink just as I was spitting--the timing was impeccable!). But maybe that is all she needed today, a silly story about toothpaste.