You need to be READY to love well

We get ready for work, for school, for sports games, practices, for parties, for meals, for bed and everything in between. People like to be prepared to do well with the challenges each day presents.  However, the problem, is that typically we only do this consistently when we are dealing with events we’re expecting. What about the events that find you – the ones that you didn’t see coming that register in the depths of you heart?

Recently, something happened that I was not ready for. A dear client of mine, Paul, was unresponsive to previous communication attempts I made. A couple of months passed before he called one evening. He began to unpack what had been going on his world.  What he shared with me hit me straight between the eyes, and definitely explained why he hadn’t been in contact.

Let me give you some of the back-story. I knew his mother was battling cancer six to ten months prior. I was fortunate to be a part of his life and pray for his mother and their family. The last I heard, the cancer was in remission.

So when he called me that night and told me his mother died, I was not only sad, but very surprised. He explained that his grandmother also died within a one to two. She told her family she was giving up her spirit and desire to live now that her daughter was gone. I knew the pain of losing a loved one unexpectedly; my father had died unexpectedly in 2004.I had lost one family member. Paul had lost two within a couple of weeks.  .

Paul was distracted from focusing on his businesses in the months prior. Life was a blur for him and his family. That night, as we spoke, I did my best to try and listen, but I was caught up in the “stuff” of my day and plans for the evening. I wasn’t ready to love him well, and that breaks my heart. I failed to do what God has told us we should do in the Scriptures: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity (Proverbs 17:17 NIV).”

We need to be ready to love well, even though many times we’re not. So what should we do? I have no wisdom of my own, but look to Scripture for God’s wisdom. If we are meant to respond in love in times of adversity, it is clear that we need help doing so. In our time of need when we hit those unexpected moments, we need to turn to one who is greater: “My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2 NIV).”

God desires to help us prepare our hearts each day to be ready to love well during the unexpected. We can prepare best by engaging God in prayer and reading His promises. Ask God to ready your heart for whatever He has in store for you each. We need to seek His help in loving others well.

God bless,

Joe

* feel free to contact me personally with any questions or comments.