Love. So simple, yet so complicated. I am not setting out to write a book on love -- there must be hundreds you could choose. However, I am setting out to write a little about the deepest definition of love I experienced in my life with Debbie: self-sacrifice.
In order for me to meet the needs of my beloved wife, there could be no room for selfishness. Note that I did not say there could be no room for self, for my suffering wife made it clear I must take time for myself. What I am referring to is selfishness, a self-pity that could blind me to seeing and subsequently satisfying the needs of my cherished one.
When frustrations hit (and they did), I (continually) had to ask myself “Why am I upset?” I had to focus on my heart, on my motives, on my will. I had to ask myself if my frustration were something that needed attention immediately, or could it wait? Nearly without exception, my frustration concerned a desire that could indeed have waited.
While I thought of my precious Bride who did not choose illness and pain, I almost instantly softened. Love took over. Frustration fled, and tenderness triumphed. Bitterness could not bully its way into my life and anchor itself in my heart. God’s grace guarded my mind and my mouth and assuaged any anger that would indefinitely injure the precious treasure God had given me.
Where do I find the basis for what I write about love? The Bible. The Apostle Paul’s First Letter to the Church at Corinth, Chapter Thirteen. Jesus Himself.
Love. The sweetest definition I can give you is self-sacrifice. Once I gave up my will and let God have His way in my heart, the power and peace came. Love prevailed.
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