We love in ways meaningful to us. And it’s only natural to want to receive love in similar ways. But others have their own way of loving us. Contentment frees us to receive love in their way.
Photo by Roman Purtov on Unsplash
Typically, our proof of love is to receive in the same concrete ways we give.
For instance, if we love by being active and outgoing with others, we might feel unloved when others don’t invite us into these adventures with them.
Likewise, if we love by paying attention to the small meaningful details of a person’s life, we might feel unloved when they seem to forget those things important to us.
While it’s disappointing not to receive love in the same way we offer it, in reality, it’s rare that the other person does not love us.
More often than not, they simply have their own way of loving.
We each have our own personalities and histories, as well as our own successes and failures in love. Therefore, we each have our own unique ways of giving and receiving love.
We remain ungrateful and resentful when we keep looking for our version of love and are unable to accept the varied expressions of love offered.
Contentment reminds us to rest in the abundance of love God has poured out on our behalf. And this fullness is not dependent on the particular expressions of any one person.
The infinite love of God frees us to accept whatever the other has to offer with gratitude.
This is not settling in complacency. There may come a time to challenge each other to grow in our practice of love.
At the same time, our practice is learning to let others love us in their own way – content with what they have to offer
Let contentment free you to give and receive love with true gratitude.
