“Love Like That”
I don’t know about you, but I think Valentine’s Day comes with too much pressure. We feel pressured to have plans. We feel pressured to buy gifts. We feel pressured to pick out a card that says all the right things without saying too much depending on your “status.” We feel pressured to take our relationship to the next level and post if all over facebook before the clock strikes midnight on the 14th.
There was a day when my husband and I were too broke for all of that. We barely had enough money for diapers much less extra cash for cards or jewelry, so we made a pack not to do anything. If so much as a mint shows up on my pillow, he knows he will never hear the end of it. My husband knows I love him, so I am hoping he does not need a $6 card on Friday for me to prove it.
What I do hope is that my actions speak louder words. Not just my actions toward those closest to me, but to all people – strangers even. We have this amazing banner in our church that says:
Love your neighbor who doesn’t
look like you,
think like you,
love like you,
speak like you,
pray like you,
vote like you.
Love your neighbor.
No exceptions.
That is a tall order to live by, not just one day a year, but every day of every year.
Now I wish I could tell you that is exactly how I am all day every day, but there was only one guy who walked this earth that could say that. But what I will say is this is how I aspire to be. This is certainly how I want to love people. It is what I aim for in my interactions with those I love, with those I struggle to love, and those I don’t know or will ever see again. If I can love like that, most days, most of the time, then my sphere of influence will be a better place. If you will join me in loving others like that in your daily encounters, imagine what a difference we could make in this community we call home.
On the journey,
Ramonalynn Bethley
Ramonalynn Bethley is the pastor at First United Methodist Church of Alexandria. If you would like to contact Ramonalynn, you can email her at DrRevRL@fumca.org