Love Endures All Things

God's love is unconditional. And for many years I don't think I knew what that meant. But now I know. I know because I have a daughter. And while I'm not sure I can say that I had this unconditional love feeling from day one, I know that I have it now.

I know because she's 2. And she does toddler things, like pushes me away when I try to hug her and kiss her. She says "No, daddy," as she hits me. And currently her favorite person on earth is mommy. When I say that I can help her put her shoes on, she says, "No, mommy do it!"

And this hurts my feelings on the inside. It makes me sad that Rooney won't let me help her, and it makes me sad to see Kelsey exhausted having to do nearly everything for a clingy little girl.

But as she pushes and screams and hits me, day after day and time after time, I feel God whispering to me, "See, that's unconditional love." She does those things to me, and I sit back and think to myself... You won't win. You'll never do anything to make me love you any less. My love for you is not based on the conditions with which you treat me.

You'll treat me this way for now, and when you need me, I'll be there. When you trip and fall in the pool and are scared because you went all the way under the water, I'll scoop you up into my arms and you'll know that I'll always be there for you. I'll be watching from a distance, letting you try to figure things out on your own.

At the end of the day, after many frustrating battles, I'll hug you, kiss you, tell you I love you and wish you a goodnight. All is forgiven, no record of wrongs. That's why all the photos of us are sweet ones. I want those etched in my memory, and to forget the not-so-good moments.

It's not been easy, but God's been teaching me this over the past few months. And I realize now that God loves me in this way too (on a much bigger scale). When I struggle to do things on my own, he loves me. And he's solid as a rock and there for me when I'm ready and willing to turn back to him. He's always been there, watching and loving.

Of course, he's sad when I choose to be selfish and exclude him from my life, but he never stops pursuing my heart. And I'll never stop pursuing my daughter's.

It's been a tough but sweet lesson to learn.

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1 Corinthians 13:7