I have days like you

In the end I realize that all of us, each and everyone of us, are pretty much even in this life. That's a pretty powerful statement considering we have presidents and war lords who warrant respect or induce fear. We also have broken, homeless addicts who depend on a substance just to make it through the day. Can you look in the mirror and say, "yep we are all even" and not feel a little weird about that statement. I am a middle class white male living in the heartland of the United States. I know nothing of poverty or oppression. I know nothing of being a billionaire or hanging with the cultural elite. What I have realized in the last couple of months is that not one of us, not a single one, is any more special or better than the other. That homeless person might have once been a powerful executive and that star football player might have been an abused child living in poverty. Each one of us is Loved the same and all of us were created with a purpose.

Love is a hard word for people to understand in today's society. Today people 'love' TV or food. People 'love' a car or a scary movie. I am not talking about the word that is tossed around high school hallways like a football. I am not talking about the way a 5 year old would 'love' to eat ice cream for every meal (which, if it wouldn't make me the size of a whale, I would be up for as well). I am talking about the Love that God gives. This is different from any type of 'love' we know in the U.S. It is more powerful than anything we have experienced as a culture. It is the ultimate joy, a feeling that words don't do justice to. This Love goes beyond normal human understanding. It releases all shame, guilt, lies, sin, heartache, pain, and hurt from your heart. God's Love fills your soul and body with joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God's Love makes me smile, for no reason other than I feel His Love. God's Love makes me laugh and feel lifted up when I am down.

God wrote down His story of Love for us in the Bible. This book gives you everything you need to know about how the Creator of humanity Love's us and wants to share a relationship with us. The level of joy that I get from typing these words is beyond anything I know in the world. I was very excited when the Packers beat the dirty Steelers on Sunday. I was very excited when I held my little puggle dog in my arms for the first time. I was caught up on a cloud the day I married my wife. I can still remember just wanting to cry while we were up in front of friends, family, and God. I just felt so much joy knowing that she would be apart of my life as long as I live. I cried like a baby the second we finished are walk down the isle as a married couple. Even that experience, as amazing as it was, does not compare to the Love that God gives me daily! The incredible thing about Our God is that He gives us His Love to experience every day. We have the choice to experience and live in His Love or not. It's completely up to us. Some days I feel like crap and just don't want to talk to anyone, especially God. Those are the days I NEED His Love the most. When I do look up and cry out, His Love is faithful and constant. It breaks through all evil and brings peace to my heart.

I have days like you. I feel stuck in the mud and I feel the blues. I choose to let God's Love in and that has made all the difference in my life.