Love never gives up.Love cares more for others than for self.Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.Love doesn't strut, doesn't have a swelled head, doesn't force itself on others, isn't always 'me first', doesn't fly off the handle, doesn't keep score of the sins of others, doesn't revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end.Love never dies.- 1 Corinthians 13, the Message

I want to start each day with a posture of love.  It is hard.Most days, I get so caught up in trying to keep up with life. Most evenings, I feel like I failed miserably to love ANYONE well.I am a Recreation Therapist (or Therapeutic Recreation Specialist). I work in a residential setting with kids who have mental health issues, and family relationship issues. A lot of people think I'm just around to keep kids entertained during their evening. This is partially true. I do plan activities, but with the hope that I can help these kids learn to be patient and kind with themselves and others, to become resilient and persistent, and to look to the future with hope. I cannot count the number of times I have found myself sitting on the floor  in the doorway of a room telling one of them "I know this is SO HARD, and SO UNCOMFORTABLE, and SO FRUSTRATING, and SO IMPORTANT. AND you can SO DO THIS!"This is probably what I need to start telling myself - "Self, loving others well is SO HARD. Trying be social and kind when you are anxious or just plain tired is SO UNCOMFORTABLE. Trying to feel like you fit in, or trying to see past someone's hurtful behaviour is SO FRUSTRATING. And you still have to try - it is SO IMPORTANT. AND, Self, you can SO DO THIS!"Humans are frustrating. We push each other's buttons, we are often in defensive i-have-to-protect-myself mode, we stare at our phones so that we don't (have to) engage with others face-to-face, we often become so consumed with our own little worlds that we forget about others. We get tired of the hard, the uncomfortable, the frustrating part.AND trying to love well is SO IMPORTANT.I am not going to get this right every time. I am going to feel like I have failed. AND I am going to keep trying to love well, keep reminding myself that I am allowed to fail, as long as I keep trying and practicing. Because LOVE never gives up.

"Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly...  Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it - because it does" - 1 Corinthians 13-14

I am starting to plan for another trip to Haiti. I don't know what it will look like, when or where it will take me, but I sure hope I get to connect with some of YOU during this process!!! LoveLoveLove!TA