Love Does

While reading a book, have you ever wanted to be doing something else at the same time because the words evoke and stir something that make you want to jump into action yet you are torn because you don't want to stop reading? And sometimes, you don’t. You keep going and keep turning the pages only to hope the pages never run out. And sometimes, all the time, they do.

“I used to think being a believer was enough, but now I know Jesus wants us to participate, no matter what condition we’re in.”

Love Does by Bob Goff is that kind of book. Word after word, chapter after chapter, the more I read the more I learned and the more I wanted to do. I no longer wanted to be stationary and I looked forward to the next challenge that was set forth because I knew the outcome would sweep up the pieces I had broken along the way.

“I used to think I could shape the circumstances around me, but now I know Jesus uses circumstances to shape me."

I finished the book in two days. I opened it up while laying poolside and in the morning while K was brushing her teeth. Any opportunity I had to finish “one more chapter”, I did. I wish the book was 1,000+ pages longer because Bob Goff is simply an amazing storyteller and author and man. 

“I used to think I needed to record stories, but now I know I just need to engage them.”

There were many teaching points made and to sum them up in one word: do.

When you “do” more, you love more. You move more, you share more, you listen more, you talk more, you laugh more, you give more. The list is endless. Over the course of the two days, I put his teaching points into action and found myself living my life instead of watching it.

“I used to think the words spoken about us describe who we are, but now I know they shape who we are.”

An example of this happened last Wednesday morning as we were sitting in the driveway. I sat there, sipping my coffee and looking at who knows what every social media app on my phone, when K grabbed her hula hoop from the garage. She laughed as it kept dropping to the ground seconds after she started balancing and spinning it on her hips.

"I used to want to fix people, but now I just want to be with them."

Minutes later she asked me to join. I said no and being the persistent nine year old that she is, she asked again. It’s as though Bob was standing next to her with his arms crossed and a stern look on his face, hinting that I should do what she was inviting me to. I put my phone down and grabbed the sparkly pink plastic circle and gave it a whirl.

"I used to think God was good some of the time, but now I know He's good all the time."

I can't tell you how in those moments, my inner child came alive and then some. I belly laughed like the best of them and the smile on K's face was the cherry on top. I don't want to look back in my rearview mirror and see myself sitting on the driveway and I don't want K to remember me that way, either. 

LOVE doES.