And it doesn’t just change the other person. When you love in spite of your feelings, that’s called loving by faith. That’s important to remember when you are trying to love people who seem unlovable. If you act in a loving way, eventually the feelings will follow. It’s easier to act your way into a feeling than feel your way into an action. Love is giving a person what they need, not what they deserve. Love is being patient with your spouse when they’re irritable. Love is getting up in the middle of the night to help a sick kid after you’ve already had a long day and went to bed late. It wasn’t always the easy choice, but it changed the whole dynamic of her home and the way she saw herself as a mother and as God’s child.Īcting in love when you don’t feel like it is actually a greater expression of love than when you do feel like it. What made the difference for this young mom? She made a choice. It brought the happiness back into my life and my home.” It was as transforming as when I accepted Christ into my life. “I realized the single most important thing I could do was love my family,” she said. Five words in particular leaped out at her: “Without love, I am nothing.” So she wrote out these words and placed the notes all over her house-on her refrigerator door, on the dashboard of her SUV, at the top of her calendar.
In her despair, she cried out to the Lord.Īs she spent more time reading the Bible, she found the answer in 1 Corinthians 13. When she looked at herself, she saw a failure. She felt like all she did was nag her kids and scold them incessantly. It seemed like her schedule and the demands on her life were too much to handle. I once talked with a young mother who felt overwhelmed and was battling depression. Even when you don’t feel like it, you can choose to do it anyway. "If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2 NIV).