Choices and Love

Choices, we all make them, every second of every day.

Today Noah woke up and chose to wear his Mario costume, complete with rain boots.  He wore it to the eye doctor and to Sam's.  He was adored everywhere we went.  In his 6 year old mind, he IS Mario in that costume.

This is an older picture, but how cute are my little buddies!

Eli, opted for his Luigi hat only, rain boots, sunglasses, and a spider man t-shirt.  He also carried his toy of the week, a transformers car, in his hat.  

Both boys woke up and made the choice of what was important for them.  What represented them.  Noah is a detail oriented little guy.  He likes everything to be in order.  Mario needs a mustache, boots and white gloves, or he just isn't really Mario.

Eli is more eclectic in his thinking.  The mustache aggravates him, and he likes a little bit of everything he loves to be represented.  NO order required, except once he decides that day's items, they are CRUCIAL to have at ALL times.  In fact, typical order is too much to think about for him.  A little of this, a little of that, and he is happy.  We often say he lives on Planet Eli and the only one who is weird enough to visit is his Daddy, who resides on Planet Jason.

We love both of these boys with ALL of our hearts.  Gosh, so much, I couldn't even begin to TRY to describe it.  I get teary eyed just trying to express it.  They play together so well, rarely fight, and when they do, it's resolved quickly.

Elijah is amazingly quick to forgive and moves on about his business in lightening speed.  He is quick to say he is sorry also, and he MEANS it.  He is rough and tumble, tough(unless Mama happens to see the fall), and is MY boy.  He LOVES his Mama.  He rubs our thumb as comfort and sneaks into our bed almost every night.  He loves physical affection and his sweet smile will melt your heart in half.  

Noah, while he is more stubborn, has the most tender heart, and is so so gentle and caring that he rarely gets in trouble.  He is our protector, keeps Eli and Ava safe and secure.  He has what some call an "old soul".  Bright beyond his years, and kindness that reaches to the heavens.  My Mama asked me if I noticed how when he talks you can tell he's "seeing" it in his head.  Perfect way to describe his spirit.  So present, so intuitive, so so sweet!!

In some ways, they are very similar, but they are also very different.  They have unconditional love from their parents (and grandparents), and it's hard to describe how you love two totally different children in different ways, but exactly the same!  And don't worry, we love Ava JUST as much, but this is going somewhere. ;)

Two little boys, 2.8 years apart, about the same size, similar interests, and from the same 2 parents are SO incredibly different.

Doesn't that represent our God's family, you know, the one we all belong to?  We are all so so different.  No two people are exactly the same, yet we come from the same creator.  Our Father loves us unconditionally and loves us all the SAME and DELIGHTS in our unique qualities.  We are made in His image.  So therefore, we have the ability to love like Him.

I know it's impossible to TRY to love someone else as much as your own children.  But if you think about parents who have adopted children, they say the same thing, "no difference on the love meter, we love them beyond comprehension."  I can say this as an aunt of adorable adopted twins, I loved them immediately, and it's from my in-laws, no blood relation whatsoever.  I also know it's easier to love children.  They are so sweet and innocent.  Many have seen things they shouldn't, so maybe they don't act so sweet, but it's hard to say you could "hate" a child.

I absolutely know what Jesus meant when he said to have faith like a child, they just trust us to take care of them.  And in a home where He is invited, they feel secure.

So, what if we have the ability to look beyond our differences and love unconditionally?  Isn't that hard to even begin to try to fathom?!  It's easy to say we love our neighbor, but oh my gosh, have you seen some of the neighborhoods out there today? It's NOT EASY! It will NEVER be easy!  But we HAVE to try.  As members of the Most Royal family, we are called to LOVE!  Even the most weird of weirdos who could REALLY have their own planet.

I think first of all, you have to begin with loving yourself.  I'm not talking about self-centeredness either.  I'm talking about seeing your value, seeing Christ in you, that living, ever so present God who vibrates this planet.  It is a journey in itself, especially if you have never had someone tell you GOD LOVES YOU!  He does, yes he does!  God so loved the world, it says in His word, and We are the world, we are the children.  He loves you and can get you out of ANY mess, just dig down deep if you've made choices that have buried His voice, it never leaves you.  He loves you and can teach you to LOVE yourself.  I am proof of that miracle.  I still have to remind myself to let go of old thought patterns, but I'm always reminded I have what it takes to heal from any scars.  Jesus said the second greatest commandment is to "love your neighbor as yourself."  If you don't love yourself very much, it's hard to love those around you.

Once you know God loves you, and you start beginning to see that he created you to be loved, and to love, it gets easier to love those that seem unloveable.  Does this mean you let everyone act a fool and run all over you?  Nope. Not at all.  It really doesn't mean you do anything to try to get anyone to love you back.  You choose love by how you live your life.  We have really no control over anything except choosing to hear His voice in any circumstance.  When you plug in to that, you automatically exude love and give people hope.  It's really effortless and doesn't require anything from anyone.

We are all very different, we are all His creation, we can all learn to get along better by first learning to accept His love, which radiates naturally out of our hearts.  Does that seem hard?  Sometimes it will.  But when you get so aggravated at someone, let it teach you.  Examine those thoughts and learn from them.  Many times it's some sort of strong hold we need to release.  Other people should not be able to steal your joy.  I am working on this, as I tend to want everyone to "get along", but I am learning from this. My desire for everyone to "get along", is rooted in something the Lord has been able to heal me from.  I know everyone isn't going to "get along", but I can still choose love for those I have direct contact with.  I can still see those differences between others, but not get emotionally involved and let it steal my peace.  I can choose to stay plugged in. I can choose to keep my race going strong and letting his Love flow through my life.

So to tie this all back together....I have 2 boys who may look a lot alike on the outside, but they are so very different.  I love them for their differences, I can see why they choose what they do, it's WHO they are.  They are loved unconditionally by Jason and I, they are not perfect, but nothing will EVER change how much we love our children.

Is it possible to see how different we all are, even though if we were walking together down the street we would seem similar, and to love one another because we love ourselves?

We can have faith that we will be taken care of, that no matter the circumstance, He will get us through it.  Then we can shine and radiate out of a natural love that only comes from a Father.  We are His image, let's plug in and show the world how BRIGHT love can be.  It is possible to share love without condition when you know the One who loves you most, is guiding you every single choice of the way.