Quiet Reflections: Love

Quiet Reflections from a Mothers Heart to her Daughters.....






Dear Daughters,

I begin this new year with a new focus...a focus on you. As I have reflected back on almost 50 years of living, I am burdened by my failures. One of the things that I regret most is that I was not the perfect mother for you. Everyone will say it is impossible to be perfect but every mother wishes for that. But no matter how many flaws I had, one thing remained constant...I loved you, I love you even more today.

Love can be amazing. Love can be tough. Love can feel good, it can hurt. Love makes a wrong decision right such as when I have to choose to disciple you for a poor action. Love is comforting and safe, such as when I could reward you for something well done.

Can we love enough? Yes, but too often we allow other things to get in the way. Did I love you enough? Yes, in my heart but I allowed other things to get in the way of my actions. How we should love was model for us by our Maker with an unconditional love.

Unconditional love. To love "without conditions or limitations; absolute". That's how I want to love. That means no matter what one does in life, you love them fully. The perfect model of this is God.

The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. ~ Psalm 145:1-2 (NLT)

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here. But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children’s children of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments! ~ Psalm 103: 11-18 (NLT)

We are instructed by God to love as He has loved....

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. ~ Ephesians 5:1-2 (Message)

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12 (NIV)

We are to live in love as Christ did...

And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. ~ 1 Corinthians 11:1

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.  ~ 1 Peter 2:21

Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. ~ 1 John 2:6

The one who says he belongs to Christ should live the same kind of life Christ lived.  ~ 1 John 2:6 (NLT)

So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." ~  John 8:28-29

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 2:5

Here is what I can promise you after all these years together...you can do nothing to take my love away from you. I may not be able to support some of your life choices but I will always love you. I may not always say what you want to hear but I will always love you. I may seem critical or not understanding but I will continue to love you. I may be upset and angry with you but I will love you more.

I may not have loved you perfectly in my actions but I have loved you perfectly in my heart. I have found that I cannot live this life with out clinging to my faith and belief that God is Ultimate and Absolute. His ability to love me and forgive me through all the ugly has been my strength and my healing. I want you to love as Christ has loved to avoid the mistakes I have made. I want you to know Him like I know Him, to crave Him like I crave Him and to seek Him as I have, daily. There is no love like the love of God!

And my prayer is that from this day forward, you can say you experienced this kind of Christ-like love from me.

I love you.

Mom