I was reading through I Corinthians 13 a couple years ago, berating myself for being the Meanest Mom on the Planet, and having a hard time feeling the love Paul was intending to get across. Being that I am a list girl, I broke it down and re-wrote the passage on a piece of paper like this:
Love is…
Patient
Kind
Truthful
Protecting
Trusting
Hopeful
Persevering
unfailing
Love is NOT…
Envious
Boastful
Self-important
Rude
Self-seeking
Easily angered
Holder of grudges
Delighter in evil
The passage was so familiar to me it became meaningless, but when I looked at it from a different perspective, I had an ah-ha moment: I was clearly not loving my family. I can’t say this has been the magic pill to make me a better person, but it is a succinct reminder in the face of Everyday Craziness, so I taped it to the cabinet doors in my kitchen.
I shared this with a friend, who then showed me a similar list she had posted in her kitchen. I was instantly in love with the practical spin put on it, and I reworked it a little to suit my own shortcomings. It is now on the front of my refrigerator:
visit Rocks in my Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday posts.
awesome idea! I’m totally going to do this…well, minus the kids part. I’ll just put in “houseplants” or “husband” in those blanks.
wow, I needed this encouragement today.
This is great! I’ll have to use that, thanks!
I was just thinking about the first time you shared this with me as I did my study this morning…love it!
Oooooh, I love this! I’ll be printing it out and putting it on my fridge right away! Thanks & Blessings, Whitney
I love the lists. Great reminders of what I want to be like when parenting and what I am NOT when I am parenting. I might just have to steal the list that is on your fridge so I will hopefully see it before I turn into a loud, foul language spewing momma.
I love this! Thank you for sharing.
i love that chart. definitly something i will keep around to remind me in those moments. boy, thoses moments.
i tagged you for a blog thing. hope you can participate. sorry that’s so random.
i am sorry that i don’t comment more. i really try to keep up with the zug’s. i miss you and the pacific northwest and love getting to know this jen that i never knew.
i’ll try not to be such a lurker…
Cool. But remember, this passage is talking about perfect love aka Jesus, so you can cut yourself some slack.
that is wow, really a great thing you’ve posted. I’m going to have to put that on my fridge, too.