True

Today at church, the pastor said, "do not waste your life." The whole sermon, which was on following Jesus, was interesting, but that one phrase struck me. I believe the best, and maybe the only way not to waste your life is to love. To love, to give, to forgive, to show kindness and understanding to others. To shoulder your burdens with grace and humor and to show sympathy for others' burdens. Not to be perfect, but to strive. Not to be holier-than-thou, but to be real and honest. I have believed for quite a while that our lives are short and often hard, and that there is no way to make a real difference in the world, not even with great amounts of money, except to show love and kindness. That is the way we make a difference in the world - by brightening the lives of those around us. I don't always succeed, that's for sure, but I try, and I only want to try harder and succeed more.

I have a terrible memory for my own childhood, but about a month ago I remembered a little knick-knack from my Granny's home. I can picture a small red square on her kitchen window sill, with the words "God is Love" spelled out in alphabet letters by my father's hand when he was a child. As I have struggled to find my way back to God since Cash's birth, trying to figure out what I believe and what I don't, this is the one thing I know to be true: God is love.