Love anyway

Choices, choices, choices. When was the last time you stopped to think about the many choices you make just in one day!? What will you eat for breakfast? What will you wear? How will you do your hair? What will you do with those few spare minutes of free time? Some of these choices are big and some are small, some are more important that others, BUT—we still have the free will to choose.

Many choices are easy to make. But sometimes *choosing to love* does not come as easy.

As I was preparing to write this blog, I was thinking about how I am struggling to choose to love people right this very second (yikes!). With all the election drama and negativity plaguing social media, I am faced with many choices to love anyways. I have honestly been shocked at the reaction of this election. Many people proclaiming they want the hatred to stop but how will that be accomplished if we continue to act out of hate?

We have to start acting out of love.

I have to start acting out of love.

I heard a priest recently say, “Jesus is The Church. The Church is made up of many people and many people say they don’t find Jesus there. Want to know why? Look in the mirror. We are not doing a good job of imitating Jesus.” Ouch. That was tough to hear, but it was truth.

If we want to see change—then we need to be change. If we want to see kindness—then we need to be kind. If we want to see peace—then we need to be peace. If we want to see love—then we need to be love.

We must start with ourselves, within our own homes. *This is where it begins.*

We all have the choice to make. You can choose love or not. I am not saying it is easy; I struggle with it every day but I do know that nothing brings more freedom than choosing to love. When you chose to love you free yourself from grudges, you free yourself from hate. And don’t worry, you won’t have to go looking for an opportunity to chose love—it will be there every single day :)

Can you imagine if we all started to act out of love what would happen? The media would have no choice but to show the good news because that was all they could find :)

Deus Caritas Est. God is love. Let's remind the world.

No matter what—love anyway.

"People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;Forgive them anyway.If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;Be kind anyway.If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;Succeed anyway.If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;Be honest and frank anyway.What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;Build anyway.If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;Be happy anyway.The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;Do good anyway.Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;Give the world the best you've got anyway.You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;It was never between you and them anyway.” -poem engraved on a wall of St. Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta

Be His,