Depth of Love

Something that I've learned throughout the years of not only the childhood I lived, but especially throughout my treatment days, is the fact that I most deeply see the love of God through the people around me. It is one thing to know that someone loves you, but it becomes the next level when someone goes out of their way to show you that love. Throughout my time in treatment, I knew that God loved me, and I also knew that there were people around me that loved me too. But then, I could not wrap my mind around the fact that strangers were showing me love and care even though they knew nothing of me. Sure, sometimes it was their jobs, but not always.

It could not have been coincidence that there always seemed to be someone at the exact right place and time that I needed them. It could not have been chance that my cry for help was always answered, even though it was not always in the way that I wanted or expected. That must be the understatement of the century, because let me tell you from firsthand experience that God does not work in the way that you think He will and most definitely not always in the way that you want Him to. However, He has sent me multitudes of people not only in the depths of my pain but on the best days to either lift me up or continue to cheer me on.

As Valentine's Day approaches this month, I encourage you to not only celebrate the idea of love and to connect with your significant other or loved ones, but I hope that you take a moment to reflect on the ways that you have seen the love of God through other people in your life. Maybe you see it most clearly when someone does something to surprise you and that reflects how God does surprising and miraculous work. Or maybe you see it most clearly when someone comforts you in your fear, just like God does for us through His word in the Bible. Or maybe you even see it most clearly when someone wraps you in a hug because that is a reminder that God has you in the palm of His hand. It can remind you of so many things!

Being around people in general and not just my loved ones have allowed me to open my eyes to not only the beauty of God's creation of mankind, but that we are created in His image and we can resemble Him and bear His likeness in some ways. Every time I see someone lending a kind hand, offering a smile across the room, or speaking gently with care, I can see the reflection of God and there are times where it can be breathtaking. I often have to pause and dwell upon the fact that I serve such an amazing God that I can see His hand and the depth of His love no matter where I go or who I meet.

Of course, I am not neglecting the fact that there are people that do not reflect the love of God at all and that I have met too many of those to count that I wish I did not...but I do understand that it is because we live in a fallen world that is filled with sin and broken people. Some people can come close to the likeness of God's love, but it will never be perfect on this earth. Have you wondered why I used the image of locks that line a fence where people that love each other lock away their secrets? It is because we are just like one of those locks. We exemplify love, care, and commitment on the outside, but we hold a secrecy of sin internally that keeps us bound while we are still on this earth. It is only in heaven that we will truly be free and capable of letting God's perfect love flow through us!

So again, as you spend Valentine's Day with your special someone or even just the people that you deeply love and care about, I encourage you to think about how you see the love of God through those people around you. How do their actions remind you that there is a heavenly father that cares deeply for you? How do their words remind you that there is a God that loves and accepts you for who you are? How do their characteristics remind you that God so lovingly created each and every one of us so uniquely in His image? I pray that you are encouraged and reminded each time you see the people you love or when someone treats you with care that you are deeply loved and cared for by God above.