Heartache

Do you have an injured heart? Has someone broken it, or worse, have you never felt loved?


I think everyone of us has been injured at some juncture of our lives, while a large part of the youth feel as if no one loves or cares about them.
Mother Teresa once said that the worse disease on the planet is the lack of love, and that many a disease can be cured by loving it away. I believe that what she said is true.


Sometimes we all get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday lives and we sell our time or exchange it for all that glitters and catches our eye. Instead of spending it wisely, loving our children and teaching them what is important in life by giving them biblical values and morals. Living by example so our lessons are more than just words. Loving each other, treating each other with respect, showing love in a positive way, so they know what love looks like.


Most parents spend more time preparing a child for school than preparing them for the battle to hold on to their faith. Make no mistake about it. There IS a battle out there to remove all faith and religion from our country in the name of peace and tolerance.


Removing faith and morals from a society brings in its place lawlessness. We know through the bible that lawlessness does not bring peace. It breeds corruption, violence and greed.  It has brought us broken families, and broken lives and with it anger, bitterness and hurt. Anger, bitterness and hurt fester into resentment, hate and violence. Hurt people in turn either hurt themselves or turn on and hurt others.


Examples of this are fresh in our minds with the Colorado, Batman movie shootings, Virginia Tech shootings, and Columbine shootings. All were initiated by hurt people, who in their pain fostered bitterness, resentment, and hate until they exploded into violence. They finally got our attention didn't they? Why did it take so much to get noticed? Why didn't someone in their lives see the hurt and the need for love? Are we really that blind to the people around us, even in our own families?


I've always thought anger was a wasted emotion. It destroys us, not the target of our anger. We need to let go of these negative emotions and not let them make us unhappy. Has resentment and hate ever brought you any relief or peace? Plant instead a word of love, nurture it, pray and watch it grow. It will melt away your pain, anger, hurt and sorrow.


I believe we are in the midst of ourselves, and can't see past us. If it doesn't directly affect us, we don't see it and don't care about it. We are so busy pleasing ourselves we no longer have consideration for anyone else. We are so busy finding ourselves and making ourselves happy, we never see who is around us or what their struggles are. We are blind, and cannot see, we are deaf and cannot hear the cries of pain and hurt from the people next to us. Doing for others always takes us outside of ourselves. It will also bring us much greater happiness that anything we can purchase for ourselves.


Try this week to take a good look at the people you walk by, work next to, and even the people in our own families. Is anyone visibly unhappy? Give them a kind word or just listen, sometimes we just need to be heard. Is there someone struggling with something you could help with? When was the last time you hugged your family members and just said "I Love You"?


I encourage you to do a random act of kindness for someone in need today. If nothing else, smile at everyone you see, it could make their day. It is the little things in life that make it better for all of us.


Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God with all our heart and soul, but that next in importance, we should also love our neighbors as ourselves. How can we love someone we don't even take the time to get to know? If we loved each other the world would be a much better place for all.


I encourage you, if you don't know your neighbor, introduce yourself, get to know them, love them as Jesus told us to do. You can change the world, each of us can. We can start by loving our neighbor, taking time to notice others in need, and acting on it when we can. Imagine if someone did that for you, how it would make you feel? Pretty awesome, huh?