When you say I Love You today, are you saying this?
I am patient with you and kind to you even if I don't feel like being nice.
I don't want what I don't have.
I'm not better than you. I don't one-up everything you say with something I or someone else has done.
I don't fly off the handle at you.
I'm not pushy to get my way. I'll let you go first.
I don't keep track of all the times you hurt me and never tell you about it.
I do not get happy when you are down on your luck. I am glad to hear the truth from you even if it hurts my feelings.
I protect you and your interests. I don't blab to others when you tell me something.
I trust God to the ends of the earth.
I always hope for the best. If you say something that strikes me wrong, I'll first give you the benefit of the doubt that you didn't mean it that way.
I will put up with anything and never look back. I love you forever.
It is better directly from God's Word:
1 Corinthians 13 (New International Version)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13 (The Message)
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Don't feel bad if you aren't perfect. God isn't surprised! He made you! Accept yourself and accept others. Recognize where you are failing. Ask God to help you figure it out, then turn it around. Ask God to help you turn it around. Don't shut people down. If they love you, they'll turn it around, right? I tell myself this but I don't have the courage to actually confront anyone seriously. I'm so afraid of being hated. Other times though, I freely give my opinion when it doesn't even matter. Is that not ironic? God has been teaching me a lot about love. I am a miserable failure sometimes but I am so glad to have Grace from God and others given to me. I am so blessed. Thank you God!
