love...

don't just pretend to love others. really love them. hate what is wrong. hold tightly to what is good.
romans 12:9 (NLT)

so, i came upon this verse in my reading last week, and i don't usually write about my spiritual journey, but i felt like it's been brought up in my life a heck of a lot lately. i feel like it's really hard to love others, especially when they've wronged you in some way, whether that be intentional or not. it's one of the hardest things to do, but as followers, we're called to love unconditionally. i find myself going back and forth between times when it's really easy and other times when i can't seem to do it. i think the reason people become so infatuated with their dogs, is because for them, loving comes so naturally. it doesn't matter what you do, that pet of yours will always be happy when you walk in the door and will always want to sit with you no matter what kind of mood you're in. i mean, that's why i love taz. to get back to what i was saying, it seems that god is challenging me to love unconditionally and to be patient. patience has always been a struggle for me, and now, more than ever, it's like he's drilling it into my head that patience is exactly what i need to work on. this is why i struggle with throwing pots on the wheel. shaping pots requires time. i hate waiting on things to take shape. it's like this ceramics class fell into my schedule at the right time, because patience is exactly what i need to work on right now. it's tough, but it's life. the more patient i become, the more i can love unconditionally, because for some reason, people require much more patience than many other things in life. oddly enough, i tried to come up with some variation of a slogan for ebay, stating "patience is still a virtue"...see what i mean, it just keeps showing up in my life, everywhere i turn.