Journal of Sacred Work

Days 244-246 – LOVE – What’s in it for you?

 
Light on Kate's neck copyright erie chapman 2013jpg  Nothing.

   There is nothing in it for you to live Love. If your intention was to love because there was something "in it" for you, you wouldn't be living Love but engaging a transaction – an idea inconsistent Love's God-driven ideal. 

   But, since you are world-caught for now you're bound to wonder, Why choose a pathway that involves sacrifice? "If you can't get people to figure out what's in it for them, people will never support Radical Loving Care," my friend, Rollie Mains warned me several years ago.

   I did not want him to be right. My naive self hoped that people would commit to Love just because it was right. 

   Yet, our earthbound selves must see some personal advantage in an approach before we are going to commit to it. This truth has always been a challenge for the advocates of Love. 

   Jesus knew this. So did the Hindu we know as Gandhi. So did Moses, Mohammed and the Buddha. All our prophets understood that the path they advocated, the path of Love, would involve suffering.

   Radical Loving Care involves nothing more than applying Love's concepts to caregiving. What is in that for you?

   Maybe, the answer is not nothing but everything. If you live Love you will always succeed in living a full and fulfilling life.

   You cannot see Beauty unless you live Love. You cannot experience romance or parenting without Love. If you live Love, you are living life's highest calling. Whenever you live Love, God's light flows through you.

   Bend your heart to Love and feel the pliancy of the earth, the arrangement of the clouds around the moon, the way the afternoon light suns itself on your caregiver's hands. Fall in love with how light illuminates those around you.

-Erie Chapman

swiftlyunabashed93c6d9b23b Avatar

Published by

swiftlyunabashed93c6d9b23b
Categories:
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

4 responses to “Days 244-246 – LOVE – What’s in it for you?”

  1. julie laverdiere Avatar
    julie laverdiere

    I never knew how fully I was capable of loving until I became a nurse, got married and had children. And in all of that came suffering too. But the blessings that all far outweighs any pain I have ever experienced. That’s what in it for me. So much more than I imagined in my life. And I feel and see the Light daily!

    Like

    Reply
  2. Cheri Cancelliere Avatar
    Cheri Cancelliere

    As Julie said so beautifully, I also did not know how fully I was capable of loving until I became completely responsible for another human being. For me, this has been my elderly mother. Of course, I have always loved her, but now I love her with a deep, unconditional and sacred love that flows from the Light within. Love is its own reward. We feel complete, whole, at peace. We recognize that love is why we were created and who we really are. “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:12).

    Like

    Reply
  3. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    Yesterday, I spent an enjoyable day at the beach reading stories that my colleagues have written about a time when they made a difference by responding to a person’s need with a loving response. Many of these stories are so poignant yet overflowing with Love. I hope to share some of them in the weeks to come. So often it is the patient or family member who teach us about grace, courage, compassion, kindness and Beauty. We learn so much as we accompany others in the midst of suffering. Is there really any difference between the giver and receiver?
    Best of all I love the end your reflection, Erie and the images you paint to illumine our day.

    Like

    Reply
  4. sbeng Avatar
    sbeng

    Thank you Erie for your message and these words are my life’s experiences. When I got word that I had received a scholarship to study Nursing abroad I was very elated to leave the country of my birth and explore what other countries would be like-the people, culture, food etc. I therefore committed my future life of Nursing to the Lord. I learned to provide Radical Loving Care to the patients and the fellow nurses who had left their homeland for the first time like me! I served the LORD with Joy and continued to thank Him for for fulfilling my career goal. The key is also to have the inner strength from the Divine within us to strengthen us so that we have the ability to stand up and overcome the difficulties and adversities that we may face as we continue to provide and express Radical Loving Care.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment