Tuesday Musings and Wednesday Wanderings Feb. 20 2019

                Another Wednesday wanderings for my Tuesday musings. Somehow, yesterday was a difficult day to become motivated. Some of that due to the fact that I thought I had misplaced my phone Monday and I did not sleep well. Some of that due to the once again storm coming into Nebraska. We are approaching the most snow for February in a long time. I am not sure that spring will arrive as predicted. I hope so.

                I want to finish talking about love and relationships. The last leg of the stool is that of compassion and caring. I know that is two C’s but bear with me. I have always found that the root of compassion goes back to Latin and means “suffering with.” It reminds me of the traditional vows that often used in marriage ceremonies, “to have and hold in sickness and health.” Compassion is that ability to be present with the other no matter what is going on. I have seen in my lifetime several couples that hang together in the most difficult of situations and never complain about what they must do for the other. They care for their loved one doing all they can to hold them in their times of need.

                Compassion also, in my opinion, means standing with others. There are people who are voiceless and powerless, who need others to stand with them to help find a voice and justice. Compassion incorporates that. That can occur within a relationship as well. I find that reading John 3:16, God sending Jesus to us is an example to learn from. It was not for judgment but for us who were in need of someone to stand with us. So we are to do the same for others, even those we do not know. Jesus was willing to suffer with us to show us a better way.

            Compassion is all about caring and sharing with others. It is best when it is mutual, wants the best for the other, and is able to let go of our wants to edify and encourage others. It means working through differences rather than judging others who have different ideas, languages, sexual orientation, gender, racial and ethnic differences. Caring and compassion is the willingness to not hide from conflict but to approach it with love. Eugene Peterson’s “The Message” has this paraphrase on 1 Corinthians 13.                                                                   “Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.”

            As we approach the season of Lent and as we pray about our churches, especially the United Methodist Church, we come back to the relationship God has with us and creation that the foundation is built on love. In a world that seems to be built on fear and hate, let us go back to our roots of the love God and Christ has for us. Je t’adore.

Eldon