Loving

I remember earlier this year during one of the first small group meetings of second semester, we each discussed what some of our goals were for the upcoming months. A friend's biggest goal for the semester was to learn how to love people... and to be honest, I was a little upset that I didn't think of it for myself. That it didn't come across my mind that I had done a poor job loving people and needed to work on it.

I guess with writing and... just thinking in general, it's easy to make things complicated or add little nuances to things that don't really need them. What's harder, but at times, more effective, is learning to simplify things. I need to work on that.

Though thinking about things is not inherently a bad thing, it can definitely be overdone, and can be a distraction from the heart of the issues that we're thinking about. When it comes down to it, I really need to learn what it means, and how to, love people. Which can be really hard; because people frustrate me, or I feel like people misinterpret things that I mean well with, or jump to assumptions. Sometimes it's like life, and dealing with people, is a constant battle. Trying to prove myself, to make sure that they don't get the wrong impression, to make sure that they aren't hurt accidentally by my facial expressions that (apparently) seem to look negative a good amount of the time (even though they aren't meant to be). I'm usually pretty good with not letting that get to me, but lately it's been creeping up on me. So, until I fully understand and am able to live by and through God's love, that needs to be my focus.

So keep reminding me. Simply, love.