Saturday, January 30, 2010

Increase our love: lifting ideas from those better than me

In my quest to learn to love better, a note about Jesus' mother Mary opened my eyes to some other things around me.
Mary treasured up all these things, and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19)
That's one thing love does: it replays scenes and events over and over in our hearts. It understands that another person as a treasure, and keeps polishing each memory to make sure it stays bright and unfaded. And I understood a few things in a different light.
  • My father used to photograph things to focus his own attention on what he loved, and to keep the memories.
  • A sister in Christ at church is a devoted scrap-booker. Her books are filled with her family. Again, a way to focus her attention, rehearse her love, and treasure memories in a tangible way.
  • I know someone who, not really artistic enough to scrap-book, has little biographies of her children's best moments in a Word document.
  • My grandmother, every time I saw her, would rehearse story after story of all the good in my grandfather. When it came time to write his eulogy, I realized that she had been praising the good in his life every time I heard her, not waiting until he died to praise his life. Much better for his sake, I'd think.
Some people may think these are very basic things to notice, but it's just because I have such a long way to go. I'd be curious if anyone had noticed other ways people rehearse their love and treasure their memories.

3 comments:

Anastasia Theodoridis said...

When a friend of mine wrote to Met. Anthony (Bloom) on behalf of both of us, she asked why it is we loved Christ so little, and what we could do about it.

He wrote us back and advised us to cultivate gratitude, "love's little sister."

Howard said...

To use a favorite quote, 'all of life is a coming home'. As a photographer, I've certainly discovered the delight of the rich mosaic you speak of; how it truly enriches us and facilitates ways and means for genuine affection to increase. Nicely done.

Weekend Fisher said...

Hi there

Cultivating gratitude is a good idea. I wonder did he suggest any practical tips on how to cultivate?

I also noticed last night at a birthday party that you can't overestimate the simple power of being in the same place and spending some time together. That whole "hospitality" thing.

Take care & God bless
Anne / WF