The Genesee Reflection #2

On page 84 Henri Nouwen talks about his realization of "how limited, imperfect, and weak my understanding of love has been."

Then he goes on to quote 1st Corinthians 13:4-5 "But love is 'always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offense, and is not resentful.'"

This has hit me like a ton of bricks...I too am realizing the weakness of how I implement and carry out love.  Sometimes when I read through Scripture I take inventory of my life.  When I hit some instructional verses I usually say in my head something like..."I've got that, I've got that, I need to work on that, I'm good on that, I've got that"...but in just these short verses about love...I can't truly say that I have control or a grasp on any of them.

I am often impatient, typically kind to everyone but there are occasions where I'm not so kind to my lovely wife, I can honestly say that somedays I am extremely jealous of people (like now I'm jealous of those folks who have this love thing figured out!), sometimes I boast...which often can lead to a conceited spirit, once again...I can be very rude and selfish towards my wife,  I've been taking offense lately at just about everything whether it is constructive criticism or complaints, Ok...I don't think I am currently resentful of anything...except what I just listed about my failure in the love department...

These again are some things that I hope to meditate on and pray through during my time away...