Along the journey towards the greater, there are many small, daily steps to better understand oneself, God, and others. This is one of my “daily steps”.
Often I forget what it means to like (not just love) my children.
Today was D.E.A.R. (Drop everything and read) day for my twins. They got to dress up in cozy pajamas and take a favorite book to school (I kid you not, one chose of his own volition a Book of Bedtime prayers. The other chose a book that can read itself – there’s so much there in both those choices.)
They looked so cute in their matching pjs that I think I hugged them each about four times declaring my love. Sure I love them, but I also am finding (if I really pay attention) I also LIKE them as their personalities begin to emerge. (I reminded myself of that even as they squirted all their applesauce all over their hash-brown this morning and a little on their new cozy pjs as well causing some grumbling from me).
Often their compassion shows so clearly if I look for it. Today on the way to school, in fact, they reminded me to pray for one of their friends’ little sister who is sick. “We can’t forget mama!” Moments like these shine amongst the whining, demanding, mess making that usually accompanies our journeys to and from school.
In this second week of #advent focused on #peace, today I’m thinking about what it means to like someone – to recognize who God made them to be deep inside and pause to capture in our hearts the moment when it rises to the surface. It’s there in all of us, if we only pause to pay attention.
#FredRogers defines what liking someone means to him: “When I say it’s you I like, I’m talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”
Who fits this description for you?
