Encouragement

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Love the one you are “stuck” with

Today is a new day, a gift from God. Each day is something we take for granted and is always a struggle with situations we face and decisions we must make. With God, we have peace even when we don’t make the right moves and then have to eat “humble pie”.

I heard a saying recently that really applies to you if you are single dealing with a hard to take person, or if you are married. It goes “love the one you are stuck with”. That is at times very hard to do.

The person stating this was admonishing those in difficult situations to be long-suffering and enduring even when the trials are the greatest. If you are unhappy and grumble constantly, remember-----love endures all things. If you are in a marriage that might be seeming as if it never gets better, it will if you---“love the one you are stuck with”.

I think it is especially good advice to those “newlyweds” or those “not-so-newlywed” as well as a single person who lives near or with someone who they are close to and endure them. Think about it----

Do you strive to make others happy? Does it all go sour too many times, over and over when you have tried? Does it seem impossible? Perhaps you are dealing with a situation right now and the person you are with is mad at you, or you are mad at them. Stop—pray--and “love the one you are stuck with”. Our decisions are not always good ones, right ones or well thought out and may affect others as well as ourselves. If we love no matter what, when that anger dies down, we realize the reason we are here is to love each other and serve God.

If we indeed “love the one we are stuck with”, we will try and try and try through the tears, through the years etc. and so on and so on etc. We won’t stop! Most of all never stop trying to be pleasing to God, for He knows your heart and is there. There may come a day when you wish this person was still here and you could say “I love you”. Let’s not waste our precious moments dwelling on the wrongs but instead practice the “rights”. God will help us to make those “right” decisions if we ask Him to.

With Valentine’s Day approaching I recall these scriptures---

I Corinthians 13: 3-5 - Love is patient, Love is kind, It does not envy, It does not boast, It is not proud, It is not rude, It is not self-seeking, It is not easily angered, It keeps no record of wrongs

I John 4:7+8 Beloved, let us love one another, For love is of God, And everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God, He that loves not, knows not God for God is love

Many times we need to realize whether we made the choice to be near this person or persons, or whether we had a situation that caused it, we need to still “love the one we are stuck with”. We need to practice “liove” –to live and love.

Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Today if you remember nothing else, remember God’s word.

Love, Cathy

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