Love Overflows

Do you ever get completely overwhelmed by how much love there is in the world? It's so easy to see all the bad, all the hurt, all the sickness, all the pain. But do you ever get overwhelmed by how much love is out there? I am blessed and loved. I've seen bad, bad stuff in my life. I've been hurt, abused, hungry, shamed, angry, sad. But life is good. Here's the thing- for me, it all centers around my faith. How I treat my husband, my kids, my friends, my family- it all centers around my relationship with God. I've seen amazing things happen in the last 2 weeks and have been honored to be able to be part of those happenings. I know that God put me in the right place at the right time and gave me the time and resources I needed to reach out in special ways to those in need. And I also got to witness the compassion and generosity of others- giving to people they don't even know, giving a small amount when there isn't much to give. To me, that's what life is all about. That's what living is all about. Love. Love in action. Love is a choice. You can choose to love the people around you by the way you choose to treat them. You can choose to love your friends, your neighbor, and even strangers by the actions you choose. My life isn't perfect- there is pain and suffering for friends and family, there are bad days and financial struggles in my life. But my life is still blessed. And not just by material things or financial things or even by the people in my life. My life is blessed by love. And the really amazing part is that the more I open myself up to love... the more it flows around me and through me. When I focus on positive and love and blessings... there is more of it. Even on a dark and hard day, blessings end up flowing through. My faith is the foundation of this experience for me. My church family, my church home is what has helped me build on that foundation. I also can't express in words how much my church family means to me. I grew up going to church and knew the generosity that members of a congregation can have. And I also witnessed the ugly side of a church family when there would be gossiping and underhanded compliments- the love didn't overflow. Maybe I'm somehow sheltered from it and there is some ugly underbelly that I just haven't experienced... but... I don't experience that ugly side in my church home. I could turn to any person there and ask for help and I know I would be helped. If you are someone that God placed in my path this week- in any capacity- I have to thank you. Thank you for partnering with me. Thank you for loving with me. Thank you for reaching out, taking a risk, doing more than you have to do. Thank you for heaping the love until it overflowed.