1.4.24 - Hosea 11:1-4
Love is a kindness that shares the truth in compassionate ways. Who in your life right now needs a consistent love from you?
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and offering incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up in my arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.
I have the honor of raising a teenager. And I know for a fact that no matter how much you love and care for a child, they will end up finding their way and becoming their own person.
And sometimes, that way is not the one we wanted for them. Sometimes, they build idols out of thin air. And they seem so enthralled by them even if you warned them of their fleeting nature over and over.
And what are we to do as the responsible adults of these youth?
There is no other choice but to let them make their own mistakes and grow from them. And hope that our bands of love and our feeding will eventually guide them through paths of goodness and justice.
There are many forgotten moments in our lives. The lessons we thought we taught (or did teach but weren't heard). The words we said or experiences we shared that fall by the wayside.
What we remember at the end of the day is the love we've shared or that has been shared with us. The feeling of warmth, the care, the opportunity to growth with people who are consistently loving.
Love is a kindness that shares the truth in compassionate ways. Who in your life right now needs a consistent love from you?
--Claudia Aguilar Rubalcava