Precious and beautiful…. (devo reflection)

The older I get, the more inclined I am to avoid conflict—not in the “feel free to run all over me while I just smile and nod” way, but in a “life is so short and so precious and I don’t want to waste it arguing” way. But always I feel this tension of balancing God’s command to love one another with my own needs, emotions, and expectations. How can I love and still hold high expectations? How can I love and still guide and correct? How can I love and deal with the needs, emotions, and expectations of others?

These days, I often find myself thinking about Thornton Wilder’s play “Our Town,” a poignant  coming-of-age story that takes a young couple through the many stages of life. Emily, one of the main characters, says at one point, “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? —every, every minute?” The short answer, of course, is no. But I am definitely at a place where I feel life’s brevity. Sometimes it’s almost as if I can hear the clock ticking as I waste time on attitudes and issues that aren’t eternally important.

Lord, Thank You for this day and for placing these issues on my heart. Help me to love You and love others above all else. Give me the grace and the wisdom to handle conflict and negative attitudes with Your love. Help me to focus on those things that are eternally important and not the trivialities of this world, which often masquerade as desperately important. Help me to love deeply and to forgive freely and often. Help me to always be mindful of how precious and beautiful this life truly is. Draw me closer. Amen.

Have a blessed day.