Bear With One Another in Love

I blew it this morning. It may LOOK like every one around me messed up, but I know the truth. It's me.

I slept in today. It's Christmas vacation! Unfortunately I am the only person in my home who slept in. I can tell because I woke up to a house that was a wreck. The kids were in the middle of their fiftieth argument of the morning. Chores had not been done, and my sweet little artist had left a trail of abandoned supplies and masterpieces all over the house. To top it off, my husband is exiting the door for work... he was supposed to have the kids with him today. So I got snappy. I start barking out commands. I engage in a "discussion" with my husband about the plans I thought we made for the day. He leaves with everything still up in the air. My kids disappear to their rooms, and I am left alone to reflect on my first few moments of my new day. Ick.

The Bible says that the greatest commandments are to love GOD with every ounce of our being and to love everyone else just as much as we love ourselves. That's where I blew it. Had I been loving my husband and kids as much as I loved myself, the tension in my home would not be here. Dang it.

This brings me to a similar thought. Why do I treat people I don't even like better than my family? I NEVER would have insisted a friend make good on their plans to take my kids for the day if it ended up not working out for their schedule. If my kid's friends made that kind of mess in my house I wouldn't think of barking at them to clean it up! How is it okay for me to treat my family with this kind of disrespect?

The Bible describes love as patient, kind, not rude, not looking out for its own intrests, not easily angered. How can I say I love my family when my actions are so far from loving? Love isn't that squishy good feeling we have when we see how adorable they are as they sleep. Love is action! Love is right decisions. Love is sacrifice. Love is not demanding. Love is giving up my right to be upset for the opportunity to show God's love to my husband and my little disciples.

Colossians 3:12-14 "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

I guess it's time to teach my "little disciples" about the 70x7 principal of forgiveness!