The Paradox

"I have found the paradox- that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." -Mother Teresa 

The greatest thing you can do on this earth is to love. I realize that most of my posts are about love... but Mother Teresa lived by the philosophy that the action of loving another person is the most powerful weapon against sin.
That being said, however, do not mistake love with lust.
Lust is self-centered and self-gratifying. Lusting after someone means that you have in mind to satiate your own bodily desires, not the other person's. 
Love, on the other hand, serves not itself, but the other person. To love is to go outside of yourself to see another person, to serve them, to help them. 
TO LOVE IS TO SACRIFICE. Love is what makes us like Christ, among other things, of course. Think about it- on the road to the Cross and during His crucifixion, Jesus displayed the depth of His love. He collapsed three times from complete bodily exhaustion, but His will and His Sacred Heart, burning with love for us, compelled Him to get up off the ground and keep going. He endured the pain of not only being stabbed with nails and hung from a cross for the sins of every person to ever live on the Earth, but had to see some of those people on that road to His death spitting on Him, insulting Him, tormenting Him. Those people that Christ loves with all His heart were right there, smacking Him across the face and shoving Him away. But He didn't stop...

It was Christ's Love, not the nails, that held Him to the Cross. 

If you have a hard time loving others or loving God like I do frequently, reflect on what I just said. If Christ can overcome His fears, sadness, and physical and mental exhaustion because of the burning Love for us in His heart, then I can choose to cast aside selfishness and laziness to love and serve those in my life and the King of my heart in Heaven.

Lately I have had moments where I am overcome with fear from the future I have in the Army. Everything from being pushed to physical exhaustion from training to potentially being put in middle of the war later on, it's truly a hard road ahead.The devil really knows how to use my weaknesses against me. 
But that's when I need to remind myself that Christ, in all of His humanity, was able to do His job... so I can do mine, too, with His help. 

It doesn't get any easier, but you get stronger. 

Love makes the impossible possible. Love drives you to live not only for yourself, but for that stranger who needs help with her groceries, that homeless man that needs a little help getting through, that young woman who is about to abort her baby, or that old man in the nursing home that gets lonely and sad a little too often. 
Love will cause you to accept that things may not be going your way right now, and you may wish that everything would be easier for you, but remember that Christ didn't get His way when He was condemned to die, and things certainly weren't easy for Him there at the end.

Love makes the day go by a little smoother. Rather than wishing for things to be different, embrace that God woke you up this morning with another day to live, another chance to touch someone's heart and bring happiness to their life, and let every breath you take be a prayer to the God who loves you. 

When everything seems like it's falling apart, that's when God is putting it together exactly how He wants.

Have faith, friends. And remember to smile. God bless :)