Dare to love COMPLETELY…..what exactly does completely mean? A few summers ago, I worked at a place that was filled with completely….I worked at Camp Barnabas….it is a camp specially designed for kiddos and adults with special needs. But this last few weeks, I have been really struggling with the completely part of daring to love. Love is a hard thing, I mean I love pizza, I love my favorite pair of jeans, I love my_________, fill in the blank, but none of those things require a complete, undeserved, unreserved, unconditional love. While I was working at Camp Barnabas, I would sneak Dove chocolates that had little messages on all of the wrappers, and the one wrapper that hit me the hardest said “dare to love completely.” That summer I was challenged and encouraged to love people completely. I was blessed to be around people that showed me and encouraged me to love completely….one of them, I am still best friends with and to this day, I am amazed that I have a deep, genuine and true friendship with him. Sean and I have only spent a total of 5 weeks together in the same place in the last 3 years, but he has taught me how to love completely and how to invest in people even if it means getting hurt, he taught me in a very big way how to love completely….thanks Sean! I mean I love people and I love certain things about people, but I don’t always love the whole person, there are things that annoy me and bug me and make me want to walk away….we aren’t perfect and so I feel okay saying that. Tonight at church, Troy talked about they way that we love others, and how to shout with your mouth shut….well, what I took away from that was the way I love others is the way that I ultimately love Jesus. I am desperately trying to have an unreserved, unconditional, unreserved love for those around me….in the same way that Jesus loves me and the way that I should in return love Jesus…..but its not easy, I struggle….a lot. I sometimes think, well when I find a future mate, I will know unconditional love, when I _______ (again fill in the blank) then I can love completely, but the truth is, how can I love completely, when I can’t even accept the love the Father has for me. I know that I have a heavenly father that has this kind of love for me and my hope is that I can one day exude this love to every person that I come in contact with. I work with some pretty awesome kiddos, and each and every day, they show me unconditional love, some of them have minimal language, but by their actions, I know they are showing love….so, in this next few days, I am going to try and show my love, unconditional, unreserved and undeserved, love by my actions and the way that I treat those around me. May my actions reflect the Fathers love. “Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything” 1peter4:8
