Circle of Love

Praise the Lord, who is good; God’s love endures forever; Psalm 136:1

On our way back to the classroom after Mass on Friday, one of my little first grade lovelies looked up at me and said, “Mrs. Wohlfert, I know why God made the earth round.”

I asked him, “Why did God do that?”

His reply was wise and priceless. He said, “Because round is a circle and a circle doesn’t have a beginning or an end and neither does God’s love, it just keeps going and going and going and never stops. Wasn’t that a good idea God had?”

“One of His best,” I said with a wink and a smile.

We are so lucky aren’t we? We have a God and Father who will love us forever and ever no matter what. He loves us with a love that will never end and never change. Even when we drift away or forget to thank and praise Him for all He does, He’s still there lovin and lovin and lovin! I can’t think of a single thing as dependable as that.

But I think we get busy sometimes and forget what an awesome gift that is. Even greater is the fact that it comes to us freely. We don’t have to earn it or deserve it or ask for it…it’s just there waiting for us to acknowledge and share with others.

Friday afternoon, I was cleaning up the classroom table where the kids had been busy all afternoon gluing a project made of spiral pasta and popsicle stick. The glue was so thick and clumpy on the table I had to get out the sponge with the scratcher on one side.

As I dunked that sponge into the scrub bucket, I realized that no matter how long I held it under water, there was a limited amount of water it had the capacity to hold. Until I squeezed some out and spread it on the table, there was no room for more.

It made me think of the little guys words earlier that morning. God’s love does go on forever but if I squeeze out the love he lavishes on me and share it with others, He will be right there to fill me back up…just like I filled that sponge back up every time I dunked it in the bucket.

We often wonder how we can evangelize or share the Gospel message. I think it’s like squeezing out the love God gave us all over others in order to make room for more. Every time we go out of our way to share His love, he immediately fills it up even faster and bigger. He simply CAN’T be outdone.

This week I was showered with a giant gush of God’s love. I woke up Thursday with a giant headache but I didn’t want to miss school. During Morning Prayer I made a deal with God. I promised that I would offer the suffering from my pounding head and queasy stomach for the benefit of several people suffering great trials on my prayer list. I told God every time I thought I wanted to complain, I would ask Him to bless them instead.

Later that morning, I received a surprise package from an absolutely lovely lady in our community. The gift was a beautiful bag designed to carry my Bible. It has a pocket for a notebook and pen and the purple embroidery on the front of the bag spelled Joyful Words.

I was touched by that loving gift right down to the tip of my toes. As I finished admiring the gift and wiping the tears from my eyes as I read her touching note, I realized my headache was gone.

I offered a gift of my inconvenience and discomfort out of love or two others and God blasted me back with a love even greater than I could have possibly given. He just can’t be outdone. If you’re not sure about that, give it a try. Give a giant heap of love away and just see how God fills your sponge back up!

A seed to plant: Go out of your way this week to give a loving gift to another. It could be a gift of your time, talent or patience and prayer then sit back and take note of the blessings that come back around to you.

Blessings on your day!