Lindy Thompson

Love is patient; love is kind …
– 1 Corinthians 13: 4

When I love you,
I will be patient towards you.
I will wait for you.
I will hold out hope for you.
Behavior is only one part of this.
Your last-minute running around getting ready
may irritate the tar out of me,
and I’m not saying a patient person won’t speak up
(kindly – we’ll get to kindness in a second).
But I will have big-picture patience towards you.
I will believe in you, unwaveringly,
and I will be there for you.

When I love you,
I will be kind to you.
This kindness will need to be about you, not me.
There is built-in good-feeling-kickback
when we are kind to each other, usually.
But kindness has to be about the recipient.
I am kind to you when I think from your perspective,
from within your shoes on your path,
and act accordingly.
If I get it wrong, I keep trying.
(Here is patience again – they are connected!)

Love behaves patiently toward the beloved.
Love behaves kindly toward the beloved.
We can sit around and feel all day long,
but patience is action (or restraint),
and kindness is action with a focus on the other.
Love is when we provide these things.

May we be both patient and kind
as we seek to be God’s love
in this beautiful and hurting world.