Can you be angry and still show love?

In the last few years, I've realized that love is not a noun. It's a verb. Love is nothing without action. It is not a passive, mamby pamby, lollipop, floaty thing that only lives for itself in the heat of feeling. It is a warrior of purpose that strides through the darkness and brings light despite the odds. The most profound examples of love are those that come from pain. When you can stare into the face of an angry person, take his or her abuse and hold it in love, refusing to retaliate with similar venomous words, you understand the power of the love warrior. When you experience a betrayal of trust and have the patience to wait for change and redemption in the betrayer...and know the right timing to walk away if necessary without anger or unforgiveness, then the warrior is working in your heart. When you lose a loved one too soon and for no legitimate reason, and you can see the beauty of that person's short life and carry on his or her legacy, your love is like a flame of light to everyone around you. We never know how deeply we affect people, for good or ill, over the course of our lives. But if we can rise every day with the intention of making ourselves a blessing, of standing tall and walking straight without fear or judgment, then we are walking the way of love. And true love is the most powerful force in life. It transcends war, destruction and pain like nothing else. It puts the soul at rest in the most gut-wrenching circumstances. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said many profound things, but the big one that sticks in my mind is: Love your enemies. If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? If you greet only your brothers, so what? Everyone can do that. But only true love warriors can see someone who hurt them, smile and wish him well. This is not weakness or mamby pamby passivity. This is strength and action. Be a verb, my friends. Matthew 5

carpe diem

Life arrived today.

I walked out to my garden to see the growth and to check on three killdeer eggs nestled near the beans. I was surprised to see one speckled egg heaving from the chick now partially visible inside it. A second egg had a tiny hole pecked through it and the chick inside that one moved the egg with its machine-gun breathing. The third egg still looked like a speckled rock, still and silent.

I sat quietly watching the eggs in the early light. I wondered if all three would survive the weather, predators, hunger and thirst. But my day was beginning too so I couldn't sit long to see how it would all play out.

By late morning all three chicks had hatched and nestled close to each other, their already formed gray feathers covering their bodies. The parents squawked and faked injuries nearby to distract any predators from getting closer.

By late afternoon, one chick remained in the circle of pebbles that made up the shallow nest. I wondered what became of the other two, worried about the pending storm on the horizon and felt the wind grow colder.

As the lightning and thunder joined heavy rains in early evening, the fate of the chicks was in the balance. Would they drown? Would they get lost in the dark?

I peered out my kitchen window the next day, preparing to make blueberry pancakes and ticking off the items on my to-do list. I had already walked to the garden and didn't find a single chick...only the two killdeer parents wandering around aimlessly. Perhaps that is how life works, I thought. One minute you're here and living and breathing and the next you disappear.  What is the point of life, then, if it's so brief and without purpose? Maybe it's because my birthday is this week, but everything felt a bit futile.

King Solomon said that all is vanity. He was the wisest human leader in the Bible, but at the end of his life he only found futility in his riches and power. He encouraged people to eat, drink and be merry with family and friends, to guard their hearts against sin, to work hard and stay focused. Because in the end the works of this world are worthless except the development of our character and wisdom. All earthly things come to rust and ruin...including us.

While the fools of the Bible focused only on pleasure and achievement, Solomon advised us to serve others to the best of our ability, enjoy the simple things and honor one another with our lives...however brief. We see examples of infants who inspire great works by their families even though their lives lasted minutes or hours. We also see examples of elderly teachers who continue to learn, grow and serve to the end. A speaker at a women's luncheon recently related the story of her dying mother who wrote cards of faithful encouragement to two people who needed a good word; these people received the cards the day of her mother's funeral.

Still gazing out my window, I saw something fascinating in my neighbor's yard. Three little specks darted back and forth in the grass. The killdeer parents flew around wildly, chasing off any curious wildlife. The chicks survived. And with God's grace we like them will rise to the opportunity of wild and precious life every moment we have to live it.

May God bless you and remind you of today's simple gifts.