By April Terry (personal blog http://faithwarming.blogspot.com)

“God bless you,” I said, which is something that I tell each one of our seniors every time I greet them. It’s become a natural phrase for me, almost without thinking, yet still carrying with it all the meaning and intent of a true blessing. It’s a hope that each one I greet will feel the presence of God’s Spirit. Usually, I get a “you, too” but this lady looked at me with a smiling intent, and said, “God has blessed me.” My statement suddenly had become more than I had thought it could be.

“Yes he has,” I agreed with a broad smile, and then she pointed to the Star of David hanging from the zipper of her jacket. I acknowledged that she was Jewish and then she explained that she was used to attending church with her Lutheran friend and that she often attended other churches as well at times. It made her no less Jewish, but it did make her more accessible. Then, she raved about our service, telling me that it was the most unique service that she had ever seen and expressed her amazement at the power of our ministry.

We talked about her own history of ministry at the City of Hope and she told me how she felt that God had placed her in the current facility to help the others around her. I agreed and told her that she must keep being a light to others. She was so spiritual, so in tune with God. She accepted the differences in our faiths as if they were nothing more than slight disagreements. She was a real, live, God-loving woman of faith and she recognized and appreciated the same in our fledgling group as well even though we were Jesus lovers. I felt all barriers between our two faiths dissipate. People in ministry have a common bond, something that unites us in our goal of lifting up others.

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By April Terry (personal blog http://faithwarming.blogspot.com)

Throughout my life, I’ve witnessed a lot of ways that love is defined. In the movie, “Love Story,” Ali McGraw said that, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Later, we would have a whole line of T-shirts that said, “Love is…Insert an inspirational idea here” along with a picture of two naked children. Then, like the song, we were introduced to ”The Greatest Love of All” which is learning to love ourselves. Every Valentine’s Day, we are especially thoughtful of what love is and also what it isn’t. We send flowers, cards, hearts, and chocolates to show love. Of course, as a Christian, I would be remiss if I didn’t insert, probably rather clumsily, the “Love is Patient, Love is Kind” verses in 1 Corinthians that have impacted me so much as well.

I was wondering today whether we consider freedom when we dialogue about love. I think that when we give someone else the freedom to chase their faith or follow their dreams, love is expressed in a most generous way. Yet, there’s something built into the nature of all us that seeks to hold onto that which makes us comfortable, and doing that is often exactly what makes someone else uncomfortable. As all of these definitions of love tumble through my head, I am inspired by the one thing that I know about Christ-like love. It is inherently free, it is ours to choose or reject, and it is flexible. That’s right, love is flexible and some don’t like a flexible kind of love. They want to define it, build walls around it, and keep it caged in, but love doesn’t flourish when it’s caged. Love is best expressed when it is freely given without expectation or conditions.

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By April Terry (personal blog http://faithwarming.blogspot.com)

I was on a return flight from a trip recently when the young girl seated next to me started to snap pictures of the sunrise from her seat by the window. As I watched with a slight smile on my face, she asked me to ask the girl at the opposite window to take a picture for her. I did so, and we eventually struck up a conversation. She was a young girl, only about nineteen and worried about getting on her connecting flight. I did my best to calm her nerves and told her that she could do this and that if she had trouble, she needed only ask someone at a counter along the way. I offered to go with her if she needed me to, but she declined and we parted ways at the gate with me wishing her luck and praying silently for her.

I think about these kinds of encounters. I often have them when I’m traveling alone. I remember years back reading one of Bruce Wilkinson’s books, author of “The Prayer of Jabez,” and thinking to myself about how many of these types of encounters that he recounted in his books. Then, as time has travelled on and I have had more and more life experiences, I have come to realize that God places us in these kinds of positions when we are needed. It’s up to us to make the most of them.

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