She loved.

A few people have expressed interest in seeing my writing, so since I haven't written in a while, I decided to give this a try. I can't promise daily updates, but I will do my best.

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someone once asked if only you knew
how short life would be, what would you do?
what would they say when God called you home?
what would they engrave once you were gone?

I hope they would see what I've done in my life,
Who I've cared for, and how I survived
I hope they'd say

She loved more than anything else
She loved with all of her heart
She loved everyone she believed in
She loved, oh, she loved

She loved the Lord and served all her life
A sacrificial mother and an honorable wife
She gave all she had, and through every trial
Made life much sweeter because of her smile

Everyone will see what she's done in her life
Who she cared for, and how she survived
And I'm sure they'll say

She loved more than anything else
She loved with all of her heart
She loved everyone she believed in
She loved, oh, she loved

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I heard this beautiful song in church last sunday during the Offering, and the lyrics really resonated with me. If you haven't listened to it, please do, especially you ladies. I can't speak for anyone else, but if I'm not remembered for anything else after I leave this world, I want to be remembered for exactly this--how much I loved. The way I see it, there is no better and no more permanant legacy to leave here after we're gone.

A conversation I had with a friend last night really opened my eyes. She asked me, "Liz, you always say that I can talk to you, but you never ask for anything in return. Why is that?" I wasn't sure how to reply at first. Maybe it's just my nature, but rarey, if ever, has it occurred to me to help someone in a time of discouragement for what I might get in return. It got me thinking, is that really what our world has come to today? It's not enough anymore to simply want to help a person out of love; instead, there has to be something in it for us? I'm pretty sure that that's not the kind of love Christ intended, and it's certainly not the kind of love I choose to show.

In the past semester, God has been showing me the life changing power of the smallest acts of love. I have a very close friend in jail, and he's been on the wrong path for just about as long as I can remember. However, he has recently accepted Christ and he tells me that it's all because I took the time to visit him when he thought he had no one left for him. What I thought was a simple act of kindness turned out to be what turned his entire life around. I had never had an experience like that in my life before, and it really lit a fire in me to affect others in the same way. I'm not an extrovert. I never have been. Going up to someone and verbally sharing Jesus' message has never been my strength. But God is showing me that there are other ways to speak His truth, and they don't all require words.

All this to say, don't underestimate love. God created it, and he created it to be powerful and life-altering. What may mean nothing to you could mean the world to someone else. It's time we stopped being self-centered and started being people-centered. What do you want to be remembered for when you're gone?