See the Love

A beautiful friend of mine, Jennifer, sent me a note awhile back that I would love to share with you. She is a poet that paints. She painted a series of powerful paintings that she called "The Heart Series" and was asked to speak at church about it. She included this piece and was hoping that my message would help others as it has helped her.

Jennifer wrote: "I have a good friend of mine that works as a life coach and we used to spend a lot of time biking together. In our conversations, multiple times she has told me to “See the Love.” None of us or our relationships whether they be marital, family, or friendships are all bad or all good. When we do as my friend suggested, to “See the Love," we choose to focus and reinforce that which is good. Our hearts become open to see the good in ourselves and others, and we are putting ourselves on a positive trajectory.

In an everyday context, what does seeing the love look like? From my own casual experience about a month ago, I was having a stressful day in which I was trying to do everything. Nathaniel, my husband, insisted that he make dinner and I go work on my project. Foolishly I thought that I could do it all better and at first resented his taking over what I had started. I remembered my friends words though, to "See the Love." When I chose to "See the Love," I saw that of course, he was trying to help me. My load was still great but because my heart was softened, I felt gratitude for my husband as I heard him downstairs bustling around in the kitchen. Soon he brought me a plate of steaming pasta and pancetta. He was excited about the way the dish had turned out and demanded that I eat it hot! Had I still been choosing to wear my anxious heart, I may have responded that I needed to finish what I was working on and that I’d eat it later. But instead I chose to "See the Love." He wanted me to have the dish at the peak of enjoyment, which is love."

Photo by Jennifer Gaskin www.jennifergaskin.com