I love words, which is odd considering I have horrific ADHD and truly struggle when it comes to focusing in and actually reading or studying anything that doesn’t spike that hyper focus reaction. Nonetheless, words have always come so easy to me. Well, at least in the sense of using them to write stories or running my mouth.

I thought about this as I tried to do my Bible study because if not for that love of words and the meaning they carry I truly do not believe I could get through this task. I am a (insert the number that we don’t speak here) year old woman and I have never ONCE gotten through an entire devotional. I think the fact that I am reading someone else’s thoughts on the words holds me back here.

I have always been so far outside the box when it comes to thinking that I rarely understand inside the box thinkers thought processes. I have to dig in and pick the words I am reading apart and figure out for myself what is going on in the text. Instead I end up just picking a book in the bible normally at complete random and digging in to see what words jump out and grab me and what thought comes to mind when they do.

So today the word today that jumped out at me was hope – that lead me down the path of researching how many times it was used in the Bible. The answer – 129 times. In the whole Bible! To which I thought “hmmm… that doesn’t seem like a lot to me…” So my next thought was, “what about faith?” The answer – 458 times to which I thought, “ok, so clearly that’s an important one.”

My next thought was, “what about love?” 551 times!!! So clearly when the good book says “the greatest of these is love” it means it. Love is such a missing word in the thought process of 2021. I see so many closed off to the idea completely.

The importance of love your neighbor is completely driven by greed. I’ll love my neighbor if… they are nice to me first… if they look like me… if they vote like me… if they believe like me… if they deserve it. The list really goes on and on with this conditional form of love we are surrounded by these days. When my focus was drawn here it was a completely inward look at my own love. I see so many failures in my love that I literally had to drop my head in shame.

The lack of action is so often the most visible action of all to those in need of love and grace. When we see them and don’t act to show kindness and love they can see that and they feel that. So many people feel unseen in this world, and the idea that I am adding to this problem just breaks my heart a little.

Am I doing this intentionally of course not, but my own selfish desire to just go home and be left alone and “stay out other people’s business” – well, that in itself is an action. That is me choosing to not see their need for talk, or a smile, or a kind word. That is me CHOOSING not to see their pain. I have this running fear that what I have to say won’t matter in the big picture of it all – that my smile won’t help them. Why would anything I say or do for them matter?

I’m no one…

Well, the words fear not – those words were used 365 times in the Bible. That’s 1 reminder each day of the year that I am someone to God, and that He does have a plan for my love for others. God doesn’t see any one as a no one. He sees us as chosen.

So, I say get out there and love someone today.

In that moment when you see them and something stirs in you, maybe take that as a God wink saying, “Hey, can you help me out with this one and show them my love through you?” What a gift you will be to that person God has in mind for you today…

Trish

So now faith,hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

-1 Corinthians 13:13

P.S. See how that scripture was ended? Period. That word means to mark the end of a declarative sentence. The kids today would say “periodT” meaning “done – that’s it. Aren’t words fun!!!