Column: Information Station

April 2008

I understand when people say, “I believe in God’s love intellectually, but I don’t know it personally.” It took more than a decade after I became a Christian for God’s love to make the journey from my own head to my heart.

One of the first steps I took was to see God’s creation as a personal gift. Years ago, when a mall worker placed a bouquet of purple irises on a nearby restaurant table where an elderly man sat, I paid little notice. That’s because they were common on my grandfather’s farm.. Besides, I had shopping on my mind.

When I heard the man exclaim in a shaky voice: “They’re beautiful,” . I looked at the flowers again. Chagrined, I realized they were prize winners from a flower show in town and I’d been too preoccupied to notice.

That made me realize how often I ignored much of God’s glorious creation because I was occupied inside my head. Ashamed, I told the Lord I was sorry. I did wanted to pay better attention--to really see a crocus or a sparrow as a love gift to sweeten my moments. Now that I worried less about whether or not I was doing life correctly, I was ready to do that.

Second, I learned to identify ways God expressed His love through others. A woman at a retreat I led dramatized that in a way I’ve never forgotten. “One Christmas eve I’d just been released from the hospital,” she told conferees. “I was alone in my apartment feeling terribly depressed.” “I heard a knock at the door and opened it to see a smiling couple carrying a small, decorated Christmas tree, presents and food. They lived in the same building, but I hardly knew them.” She wept again as she remembered.

Her experience reminds me that, whether small or large, love acts performed through others are personal gifts from God as well. For He is the source of all unselfish love and the One who instilled that quality in us. When someone performs a kindness, I want to be grateful to the individual and worship the Originator

In my May column, I’ll bring center stage two more ways God’s love made the journey from my head to my heart. In the meantime, keep reminding yourself this month to see God’s love painted in the colors of Spring and acted out in the generosity of others.

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