What was love? How do I know I have it? I only knew of what I was taught. A love based on my past and what I labeled love as. I needed to understand more of how to love. I asked the Lord for a deeper understanding of how to love my neighbor and myself.
One day my husband saw a cricket in our home. He quickly took it outside and set it free. I thought, how strange. What is he doing? Then one day we were going into a convenience store. There was a giant roach outside the store. The roach was laying on its back. Its legs where moving. At this time I was thoroughly disgusted. My husband stopped us to look at it. He went to go pick it up. I freaked out. I said loudly, “what are you doing?” He quietly said,” I am helping it turn over. The sun will kill it, if I don’t help.” I began to proclaim my disgust for this act of chivalry. I told him he was crazy. Roaches are meant to be killed. You see one and you kill it. That’s what you do. My beloved simply said to me, “This bug is simply looking for food. Why should he be killed for looking for food? Should you be killed for looking for food?” I stood in dismay. I imagined a giant shoe coming down and crushing me. The thought of it was such a new perspective for me. I didn’t want to be killed for being hungry. This sank into my soul. There was something here. Something God was showing about true unconditional love. Do I dare pick up the roach?
Uh! Hello, no way, but I no longer wanted to kill it. My husband said all of God’s creation deserves to live. Wow! I was forever ruined.
A couple of months had passed and I no longer thought of the symbolic roach. I was cleaning our house and I saw a lizard. I immediately grabbed a broom and wanted to get it out of the house. I went to swing at it and thought, I don’t want to hurt it. How can I get it out of the house? My reaction was to kill it but something changed. My mind had now renewed in that area but my physical reaction to crawly things needed renewal. I stopped and prayed to God. Lord, I really don’t want to hurt or kill this lizard. Lord, help me get this lizard to leave the house. God, if I open the door can you convince it to leave?
I opened the sliding door and immediately the lizard ran out. Wow! Either I’m the lizard whisperer or God heard my prayers. I am truly changed and see a new way of loving everything. Thank you God for showing me a piece of the love of Jesus. Just when you think human love is enough……there is more.
