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Love Is Circular
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Love Is Circular
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35 NIV
I was blessed at Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.
My first blessing was that I drove up just in time to see it erupt. It only goes off every 90 minutes and I didn't have to wait.
My second blessing was watching Old Faithful. I thought I knew what to expect. I wish I had paid better attention in my science class. I couldn't fathom what I was watching. When it was over, the very large crowd left. I couldn't leave. I was frozen as I sat and talked to God and thanked him for his world.
When I finally did leave, I turned to the people closest to me and said that I felt blessed to walk up just as it erupted. They laughed and this was when I realized several beer bottles surrounded them.
One of the men said that I really was blessed. He had been waiting for days, drinking beer, and had passed out every time, just before it erupted. I'm sure he was joking about the several days part but he wasn't joking about how much beer he was having.
Since I have never found talking about spiritual matters with drunks productive, I smiled and moved on. We were sitting 10 feet from each other. The contrast in our two experiences watching Old Faithful was unsettling. I would hate for anything to have dulled that experience for me.
My third blessing was meeting Eleanor and Mike.
Eleanor is a tiny lady that looked to be in her 80's. It is always dangerous to ask a woman's age so I don't really know her age. Mike was much younger and at first I thought him her son or grandson. They were so sweet walking together. Eleanor had a severe limp. They were holding hands. He was holding her hand to stabilize her but it was also affectionate. She was obviously in pain but working hard not to show it. I could tell she was struggling with the long walk but also very determined.
I asked if she was able to see Old Faithful. She had and her experience matched mine.
I complimented her about making the long walk. She told me that until she broke her hip 3 months ago, she was a runner and in good shape. It was still healing. She said that she had a full recovery planned and was resuming activities. Mike looked concerned and sympathetic but she wasn't feeling sorry for herself at all. I saw nothing but determination.
As we got close to my car, I realized they were lost. Every seat in my car is packed except mine. I couldn't offer to drive them to their car. I suggested that he leave Eleanor and go find his car. He said, "I don't want to leave her alone."
I told him that she could wait in my car and that I would stay with her. I assured him I was on no timetable. I sat her in the driver's seat and we talked. I tried to help her up since my car is very high but she would have no part of it. She did appreciate sitting. She thanked me for my help.
Eleanor was born in Europe and came over to the US when she was 5 years old. She married and wanted a large family. At 25, she had a tumor that resulted in a hysterectomy. She never had children. What she had was a husband, a sister, and a niece and a nephew. She lavished all of her motherly affection on her niece and nephew. Her sister enjoyed sharing her children with her. They grew up and had children of their own and she did the same for those children.
She was originally Catholic but attends a Presbyterian Church faithfully. She and her entire family go to this church and she described it as sweet.
Eleanor lost her husband to a tumor 9 years ago. She saddened for a moment but moved on. As she talked, she said she couldn't believe how much time had passed. She said it just flew by.
We talked about all of the changes that she has seen in her lifetime. She said that there was too much temptation for people today. She believes it is much harder to find God because there are too many easier choices. She says people are more confused then when she grew up. I didn't sense judgment in her. I sensed sadness about a world she is nearing leaving.
Mike is her great-nephew. She told me how wonderful Mike was to her. They were a long way from home and Mike had taken the time to take Eleanor on this vacation. I thought about my own Aunt Catherine and the time she spent with me as a child. I love to go places with her now. As adults, we are very good friends. She has no children and has shown me and my children love and affection my entire life. I feel unconditional love from her always and who wouldn't want to be around that.
I told Eleanor that the love she had shown them when they were little was being returned to her now. She didn't want the credit and just told me they were great people.
When Mike arrived, he kindly thanked me for helping. I told him how she had bragged on him. He looked at me and said the time with her was his pleasure. I told him how much I enjoyed my nephews and how blessed I felt when they spent time with me. Mike told me he hoped my nephews had as much fun with me as he had with his Aunt Eleanor.
I always joke with my nephews about my old age. I explain that they are to do 2 things. The first thing is that no matter what the nursing homes says, they really are to take me on trips to the zoo. The second thing is that when they visit me, they are to make sure the nursing home has socks on my cold feet.
My fantasy is that when my nephews are grown, I will still be so much fun that they will want to take me places with them. My Aunt Catherine taught me how to be an aunt and I have always tried to imitate what I saw I her. I have children of my own but I want my nephews to have the kind of aunt that I have.
As I watched them drive off, I thought about what a motivating force love is. Eleanor has no children and her husband has passed away. She could be alone. She could be feeling sorry for herself. She could be one of those people who constantly complain about what life didn't give her and about what people don't do for her. Instead, she just loved. She loved her sister. Her sister shared her children with her. She loved those children and their children. She continues to love them. She taught them love and now, in her old age, people that she helped teach love, love her. After meeting Eleanor, I decided I wanted to be her when I grow up.
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:16-21 NIV
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