The more you love someone, even God, the more you’d better get used to the World of Never Enough. Some days that’s a peaceful and practical place to be. At other times it’s mind-numbingly frustrating.
As we’ve been repeatedly told over the last decade, everybody has a “love language” by which they both measure and naturally express love. Doesn’t matter. Whatever language you speak or listen for, at the end of the day you’re still inadequate to communicate all that’s in your heart or all that those who depend most on you for love need.
Take words, for example – one of my most trusted tools. There’s a lazy streak in me that wishes I could just find the magic words and loop them over and over, without having to think of any more ways to say it. The problem is that words, despite their power, are gloriously limited.
That’s when you action folks take the stage. “Love is something you do,” you opine.
Amen!
So do it. And when you’ve done all you can do today, guess what? There’ll still be more to do tomorrow – especially for those you love most.
Now. You have two choices when it comes to the World of Never Enough.
You can give up and settle, and believe me, a lot of people have taken that path. You can find them everywhere – in their homes, at church, at work, at Wrigley Field. It’s not that they’ve quit loving –they’ve just given up on showing it or expressing it or expecting anything from it. They’re the cynics and “Why bother?” experts, lost in their obsession with what’s missing rather than what is.
Or, you can embrace the fact that God has created your life with days and seasons, and that each day or season has its own opportunities and challenges to say it again. That’s where you’ll find me this year. Looking for one more way to say it. One more day to show it. Knowing it’s never enough – but loving anyway.
In your relationship with the Lord, offer Him your faith, obedience, and worship. Creatively. Verbally. With action, too. But if you take your cues from the Brylcreem ads and assume that a little dab’ll do ya, you are no better off than the family that shows up to church on Christmas and feels as lost as last year’s Easter egg.
If, on the other hand, you can accept the fact that you are woefully and beautifully inadequate to say and do all that could be said or done in light of His great love for us – then offer today’s words and actions. No, it’s not enough. But Jesus settled your “enough” issues a long time ago.
In your relationships with people, the same is true. In casual acquaintances, the every-day kindnesses are quite enough, thank you very much. But the deeper the love, the more that’s left to be said or done – and that’s a good thing.
So write your clever songs and verses and rhymes. Speak your lines again and again and keep looking for new ways to say them. Move your mountains and work your magic. Do it with flair and conviction, energy and passion.
Just know that at the end of the day, it won’t be enough to show the ones you love the most how you really feel.
That’s why, in all likelihood, there will be a tomorrow. And then you can say it and do it all over again.
This year, I’m diving head-first into the World of Never Enough. Like my friends in Recovery, I’ll claim and celebrate progress, not perfection. The people I love and the God I serve are worth it.
Care to join me?
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I’m right there with you, Andy! What a thoughtful, insightful reflection – gotta love with passion!
Blessings and Happy New Year!
Martha Orlando´s last blog post ..Joy to the World!
Thanks, friend. And Happy New Year to you, too!
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