Perhaps it’s easy to love others on our timeline – when it is fitting for us. But our duty to love is not always so convenient. And love often calls us to simply make time to respond with grace and kindness to those around us.
For instance, a loved one makes a surprise visit, our kid just wants to talk, or a friend just wants to catch up. And because these are not big life or death type situations, it would be easy to dismiss them until a more opportune time for ourselves. And certainly, there’s a place for boundaries and setting reasonable expectations with the demands on our time.
But love doesn’t merely wait on when it’s convenient to provide good. It answers the needs of that moment even when they’re small and easily overlooked.
To be sure, small things matter and this includes making time for each other. It communicates importance to the other by actively choosing them rather than simply carrying on with our agenda.
Of course, wisdom is needed here as we can’t say yes to everything. And sometimes we must give priority to weightier matters. But all too often we are prone to neglect our duty to love simply because it’s not expedient.
Our challenge is to not get so focused on accomplishing tasks on our preferred timeline that we miss caring for the heart and soul of those around us.
Be diligent and not easily distracted in accomplishing all that is yours to do. And remember love will often call you to make time for each other even when it’s not convenient.
Photo by Sara Dubler on Unsplash
