This is our B moment. Our moment to be still…to be fed by the Word of God…to be grateful.
Scripture reference: 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (ESV)
This week, love is in the air. Today, I’m thinking about the importance of loving more gracefully.
When we say that we love a person, yet we add a but on the end, we’re making our love conditional. I’ve learned to replace “I love you, but…” with “I love you, and…”
Anyone who knows me is well aware that I dream big. Because of my passion, I went through a period in my life when I felt that those closest to me would support me, but didn’t believe in me the way I thought they should believe in me.
In my heart, I would always feel the words “I love you but…I need you to do this,” or “I need you to do that,” or “I need you to share my vision about this the same way that I do.” What started out as a genuine, loving relationship, would come to feel like a heavy chain of expectation and duty.
What I have learned from this is that I can release them, but I can also release myself. This is the graceful part about it.
I don’t have to be bound by what someone thinks or doesn’t think of me. I can love and respect people for what they believe. This is embodied in the phrase “I love you and…” because the conditions are completely taken out of the relationship.
Getting to this place, these few words have really helped me: “Love is patient and kind…it does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (ESV)
Please share this reflection as others desire to be inspired.
So today, love gracefully by saying “I love you and…” and releasing “I love you, but…”
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