Be Open

The other night Tara, Tina and I were talking about a-word-for-the-year concept that seems to be all the rage. If I were to choose a word it would be open. I have a tendency to keep people at arms length, only letting them in so far. Basically I take Proverbs 4:23 to a whole new level. And if I'm being honest, I didn't really want to change that about myself. I didn't think it was a big enough deal to spend time working on it. Until today that is.

I’ve been out of water for the past two days so I finally decided to go into town and stock up. There are always several kids down by the moto’s and today was no exception. When one little girl saw me she ran up, opened her arms wide, and waited. There was no hesitation. There was no fear. There was no wondering if I would go to and embrace her. She was the picture of open.

As I was looking at that little girl with her arms stretched waiting for me, I associated being open with love for the first time. I’ve always held back, and that's when I realized I haven't only been hurting myself, but I've been hurting others by not loving them fully. Once I was holding her in my arms, I decided, I want to make a conscious effort to love bigger and better, without hesitation. To love others with reckless abandon. So this year, I am officially making my new year word open. 

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8