Accept One Another
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”—Galatians 5:14 (NIV)
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”—PSALM 46:10 (NIV)
As I watch my husband enter our home from his daily walk to the neighborhood park, I see that his body is drained. Each step requires commitment. In his eyes, I observe the tiredness, and yet when I look deeper, I see that there is still a spark that shines through. My husband exemplifies strength and discipline, and our family was tested when he was diagnosed with colon cancer.
I worried that the cancer would take his spirit as I had seen it slowly diminish my mother’s spirit years ago. Then one day, he said that the nurse at the oncologist’s office told him, “You must heal yourself.” From that day forward, I watched his spirit begin to transform.
On his walks, as he passes the trees that are blooming with life, he reaches out to touch them. They are green and vibrant and represent strength and life. They are healing to his body and spirit.
These walks have begun to represent his belief in someone greater and bigger than himself. The questions that were present began to dissipate and were replaced with a deeper belief. A belief in someone who can create the vibrancy of the green in the grass and the sheer beauty when the wind gently sways the leaves on the trees.
Father God, thank you for allowing us to still see the beauty in the world you created, even when the spirit is tired.
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”—Galatians 5:14 (NIV)
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.—John 15:12 (ESV)
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.—2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV)