I hope you had an opportunity to share special thoughts
with their mother, if possible, and you experienced that love and attention
yourself if you are a mother. I saw many
comments on Facebook that were tributes to mother’s who had passed away but
continue to have an impact on their children’s lives. It was a nice day for me
as well.
I also hope you spent some time thinking about the
quote, “God created our skin tones
with beautiful variety, but all our souls are the same color.” I want to continue with this same theme in
this week’s blog.
Accepting
and Loving Unconditionally. First of all, let’s get a definition of the words conditional and
unconditional. Conditional is defined as, “made or allowed on certain terms, one
or more requirements needed to be met on specific terms.” The definition of unconditional, on the other hand, is “not
limited by conditions or limitations.”
It’s interesting to me to hear the nightly news of our global conflicts,
read American history or any country’s history for that matter, or even listen
to communication around any of us whether at work or at home. Race, religion, sexual preference, abortion,
marijuana (since I’m here in Colorado I had to mention that one), political
preference, male – female, economic status, and the list goes on and on. The question I’m contemplating this week and
beyond is, “Can we, individually, start accepting (or loving) unconditionally
rather than judging? If we did that,
what would our world look like?”
I've written about judgment and acceptance before. Yes, it’s two of those traits that bear
repeating yet maybe in another way. I
could take the approach that there’s nothing I can do about many of the
religious conflicts currently going on, the political issues with Russia and
the Ukraine, etc. However, I choose to
do what is in my control. After all,
that’s all I can do anyway, right?! We
all have our own experiences, our own opinions, our own styles, our own comfort
zones, our own uniqueness. With that
brings all the reasons why we may have all the conflicts and “issues” that we
have. Yet, the one thing we all have in
common is how we decide we will express and deal with those differences. Doesn't it come down to choice? Back to an earlier blog, isn't it really our
need for acceptance or a need for control?
Some of the headlines seem to also relate to retaliation for other
situations that have occurred. (Are those actions going to bring about change?)
UNCONDITIONAL
love and acceptance is without
limitations or conditions.
In Robin Williams words from the Dead Poets Society, “Words
and ideas can change the world.” For me,
that’s not just a line in a movie, it’s the way our lives can be! It IS a choice. The choice is to interact with all those
around us whether they be family, an acquaintance, or even a brief
encounter. My belief is that our God is
God of the whole world. God is loving
and pulls all people in. God shows
unconditional love and acceptance, in my opinion. So what’s our job? First, I can accept
others even if I don’t agree with them.
I may not like their choices, but everyone is on a journey and if I can
give acceptance and love for them in all parts of their journey that’s what’s
in my control. Can I give my opinion,
suggestions, another view point? Of course,
that’s my role as a parent, spouse, and friend.
But what’s NOT my role is to
convince others they’re wrong and should do something MY way. I can pray that God
give THEM the strength and
understanding, but I need to let go of my need for acceptance or control. Having heard from parents with children who
have addictions, they have often said they love them unconditionally, however,
they do not like or support the particular behavior. In fact, you may want to click on this link
from AA: http://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/smf-121_en.pdf Personally, this list is something to live by
for all of us. What if our words were
words of hope, encouragement, we asked reflecting questions all with the
purpose to “sow seeds,” that may later grow?
We often encounter situations which don’t fit into our
personal philosophy. What if we decided to live our lives accepting and loving
unconditionally? To me, that means
before judging we listen, learn why something is the way it is, we give
everyone room to grow and change because we know that God has the bigger
plan. We don’t have to understand to
accept and love unconditionally. We have
choices to make. Maybe that choice is to
avoid a particular person, situation, environment because it’s toxic. It is what it is. So, can I live with not having things my way
and on my timeline? That’s a key question.
WOW. This turned
into a blog heavier than I originally intended.
I hope you have a few things to think about from this point
forward. I wish you unconditional
acceptance and love for YOURSELF and
then others.
The only way love can last a
lifetime is if it's unconditional. The truth is this: love is not determined by
the one being loved but rather by the one choosing to love.”
― Stephen Kendrick, The Love Dare
― Stephen Kendrick, The Love Dare
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