Love

I was gonna write about a song I recently fell in love with titled "Who Will Love Me for Me?" and then tragically a friend of mine who probably came close to Loving people as they are rather than trying to "lovingly improve" them passed away.  Lynn was the most positive person I ever knew.  If you even tried to talk negative about some situation or other person she would kindly and quietly stir the conversation in a better direction rather than go down the negative path with you.  She never spoke ill of anyone even when someone had hurt her badly.

Unlike people who try to "correct your behavior for your own good" by "lovingly" telling you what you did wrong or how what you did could effect others, Lynn truly accepted you, warts and all.  I wish I were more like that.

As Christians we are called to hate the sin but, more importantly, LOVE THE SINNER.  Often we show our love for the sinner by forcefully pointing out how much we hate their sin.  This comes across to the person as though we hate them.  We need to learn that people are NOT their behavior.  Most people would be appalled if they discovered how their behavior effects others.  Lynn somehow knew that and simply loved people.

So for Lynn Brown, I'll miss your bright sparkly "Hello!"  Your intensely interested "How are You?"  Your encouragement.  But mostly I'll miss you.

Today I'm grateful

1.  That Lynn didn't pass away during the holidays (a big pet peeve).
2.  That Lynn was my friend.
3.  That Lynn lived and loved.
4.  That Lynn showed me how to live and love.
5.  For Lynn Brown period.

Whew!

That's how I feel after I look back on this past month...  OK on December 31 we drove to the suburbs of Chicago and spent New Years Eve with one of my oldest and best friends.  Had a great time.  Drove home on the 1st.  By that evening Kevin had the flu.  The next day I went into prompt care to make sure my knee and calf pain was just muscular and not a clot.  Good news, no clot.  HOWEVER, by 2am on 1/3/2013 I had come down with the flu, hard.  The kicker of this is that we both had our flu shots!.  Sooooooooo with the both of us really sick we sort of spent the next week and a half in a sort of drug induced haze.  Kevin, my wonderful husband made sure I had something to eat each day.  I didn't want to eat, nothing sounded remotely good, but dear heart, he made me choke down at least a peanut butter sandwich each day.  Fortunately we had enough food in the house to last us.

I was able to go to my mother's the 2nd weekend and last weekend to make sure she was ok.  Didn't do much because of the knee issue.  Also, even though I was no longer infectious and the fever had been down at least 2 days before I went the first time, this flu really takes it out of you.  I'm still recovering my strength.  Plus my knee is still giving me problems.

Anyway, enough of that, just wanted to let you know why I hadn't done any blogging since 12/29.

While I was pretty much laid up, I did a lot of reading on facebook and I'm surprised at how much of a service it really is.  It is so nice to keep up on what's going on in friends lives even if it's only a short line or 2. So, today I'm grateful for:

1. FaceBook
2. my Smartphone
3. WiFi so I can cruise the web in bed
4. Friends who care and respond to my posts in FaceBook
5. A husband who shoves food in my mouth when I'm sick.

Later.