Curious Kate: Truthseeker Extraordinare

“People who love each other fully and truly are the happiest people in the world.” Mother Teresa 

CK: Good morning, Papa ❤

PAPA: Good morning, Katie dear. ❤

CK: Aww… My mom calls me that. That reminds me, Valentine’s Day is oh my gosh, tomorrow! I need to go card shopping after school today! Every time I shop for a card for mom or Tom, I turn into a weepy woman. I guess I am just in love with love. What can I say?

You know though, one thing I have learned by watching mom is that we attract love by being loving.  All my friends just love mom. She really is a very kind and caring person, although she wouldn’t say that about herself. She would say her love comes from being loved by you. And since you are love, Papa, it is a holy love she carries in her heart – the kind that really makes difference to those around her no matter who they are.

PAPA:   I love how your mind works. It is almost amusing to see what trajectory will take. 😊 So what is on your mind today?

CK: Well, actually the subject is love. It’s is my religion class again.  The kids and I are talking about the difference between divine love and love the way the world defines it.  The things kids come up with these days! I thought I was challenging.

Anyway, so I am trying to relate to these kids what a “Godly” kind of love is and why the “big two” commandments; about loving you
and loving our neighbor are the most important…  So the first question, of course, is “Why does “God” need to be loved?  And then how can God command us to love Him?  Doesn’t that negate free will?”  Blah, blah, blah, and on and on the questions go. I feel like I’m just
talking in circles sometimes.

PAPA: As I said once before, what goes around comes around. 😊 Remember when you were in your high school religion class?

CK: I know, I know… But I asked questions because I was looking for some serious answers.  Sometimes it seems their questions are more geared at testing my faith and understanding or even trying to rationalize their own beliefs and choices that contradict your
truths rather than truth-seeking.

PAPA: Unfortunately, in the world of social media, there are many who are more than willing to share their own version of the truth with whoever will listen.

Ck: Social media?

PAPA:  Who do you think helped develop the technology? Everything that exists I have a hand in creating, one way or another.  It is up to humankind to use it for good or for evil.

CK: Very true.

PAPA: Back to the kids.  In actuality, the majority of kids really do want someone they can trust, to show them something they can believe in. Could it be that they are testing you because they know you will be honest with them?

CK: WOW, didn’t see that coming.

PAPA: So what did you tell them about my commandment to love me?

CK: I told them I would talk it over with you and get back to them.  You should have seen the eyes roll. I mean I think I know what to tell them, but I don’t want to sound like a“zealot”. You know me, once I am on a role, the world becomes my stage.

PAPA: A zealot, huh? You could be called worse. 😊 So then, how does scripture define love”?

CK: Well, there is always the standard…  Love is patient, love is kind, passage.  Ah, here we go…1 Cor 13:4-7. Yea Google!  It saves me much time and brain storage.

OK… “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth (ahh the truth…right up my alley).   It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  That gives me a lot of material to cover. But it is the last statement that I reminds me of something. “Love never ends.”

It reminds me of what mom had put on their headstone. “Love never dies”. She says that even though dad is with you, their love for each other is so strong that bridges the gap between this life and the next.  I thought that was a really beautiful and romantic way to look at it.

PAPA: Your mom is right. Love is the only thing that can span the chasm between heaven and earth.

CK: I can see that. So that is why you and I can “commune”.

PAPA: That and the fact that you are open to what is beyond human limitation. Think about our relationship for a minute. Where did it all begin?

CK: Well, for me, specifically, my obsession for truth led me to you, and as I got to know you, I “fell in love” with you.  It was like we were “courting” to use an archaic term. You knew me, and I was getting to know you, and our relationship became based on love and trust.

You know, it is interesting, my Grandma Flo was always praying, but it seemed pretty much like a one-way conversation.  If she were still alive and I told her that you and I could talk like this, she would freak out. Or maybe not, cause I was her favorite grandchild. Anyway, all I know is when I stayed with her overnight, we spent a lot of time on our knees before bed. Her spirituality was all based on your commandments and hopefully being accepted into heaven when she passed and not the other direction.

On the other hand, I remember my mom spending a lot of time in church praying after dad passed, but unlike grandma, she said she was looking for help and direction from you. That is how we ended up in Silver Lake.  Things just fell into place. And where I met my best friend for life, Sam.  Anyway, by then, Henry was working after school so I had to go with mom. I remember playing under a pew with my dolls. And I had to be really quiet because mom said she was listening for your voice.  For me, being quiet was like penance for all the trouble I got myself into. That is what mom said anyway.  I guess she had a point.

I think true love is like growing plants. They need to be nurtured and fed, talked to and listened to, and cared for. It takes a lot of effort. But it is worth it to see the beautiful flower it produces.

PAPA: Excellent!  The effort put into a relationship enables love to grow. What does love enable?

CK: Love enables a lot of things.  Like with my mom, your love was capable of healing her broken heart.

PAPA: Great example!  And since the beginning of recorded history, people have been always asking what is the meaning of life? Which is?

CK: I know. Bottom line: to love and be loved, being in a relationship with you and others; the “top two”. It always comes back to love. If we are open to your love and guidance, you are more than willing to teach us how to live fulfilled lives guided by your wisdom.  But because of the “free will” clause, you would never force this relationship upon us.

PAPA: Indeed. This loving relationship is a gift I extend to every child. But for a gift to be a gift, it has to be received and opened.

CK: That reminds me, I think I got something for Tom, but it was so long ago, I have forgotten where I put it, like normal… I think it might be is in the back of our closet. Anyway…I get it.  Your love is a gift that needs to be unwrapped in order for it to be appreciated and incorporated into our lives.

PAPA:  See, you know more than you think you do!  You just needed to talk it over with someone. 😊

CK: Somehow you make everything, make sense…

PAPA: What good would it do if I made everything so complicated no one could understand it?  That would definitely not be loving!

CK: Very true.

PAPA: Basically love is a power that makes all things possible. It is the link between my children and me and between my children and
each other. And without love, nothing can exist.  Hatred, division, war, lies and deception, lust, all these things are the opposite of love. And the evil one seizes every opportunity to use them in his favor.

CK:  Don’t get me started going down that road. Ugh! But, back to the kids. How can I guide them to discover your truths on their own?  It seems if they can make it their own, on their own, the chances of your truth becoming their truth go up substantially.

PAPA: Help them see how love is seen through the divine perspective vs. the human perspective.  Ask them what the world would look like without my love?

CK: Burnt toast…

PAPA: Basically… Now back to the original question about why I need to be loved. I don’t need anything, but I desire to be in a loving relationship with my children. Ask them what they would want from a person they dearly loved?  And how would it feel if their love was rejected?

CK: That makes it simple. But the big difference is that although others may reject their offering of love, you never will. Your love is
unconditional.

PAPA: Exactly. Then ask them how it would feel if they knew they were loved and cherished no matter what they did or didn’t do?  And that love is more than physical attraction. Many times real love is about sacrificing for the good of another. Like the passage, love is patient, love is kind, and so on.

CK: My mom is an example of that kind of love.  She sacrificed a lot for us, sometimes taking on extra shifts just to help us get through college.  She was always there for Henry and me. And believe me, Henry was not an easy child to love sometimes. ( I guess you know that, huh? Anyway, he did turn out to be a great husband and dad. But growing up he was clueless.

PAPA:  F-O-C-U-S

CK:  Anyway, mom made loving look effortless, but really it was all about effort.

PAPA: And where do you think your mom learn to love like that?

CK: From you…

PAPA: Exactly!  My children have the ability to love like me, by allowing my love into their hearts.  That is part of the gift I offer.  And my love gave your mom the strength to do what she had to, to give you and Henry what you have. She had to be strong not only for herself but for you as well. She gave you the gift of love as a firm foundation for your lives. Love is a choice, one made day after day, unlike feelings that can sometimes grow cold.

CK: You have given me much to think about.  Good thing I write our conversations down or I would probably forget half of what we talk about. 😊

PAPA: Oh Katie, you remember more than you think.  And that is what makes you, you.  Now go and share my love with “our” “kids.

CK: I will choose to try. I must be a real challenge at times, but I know you love me anyway.

PAPA: Love is patient…

CK: Love you too!

PAPA: Love you to the moon and back! 😊

Point to Ponder:  When others look at me, do they see a kind, patient, and loving soul?  When I look in the mirror is that what I see?

Challenge: For one day, focus on the cares and concerns of everyone you meet. Respond to them with genuine love and compassion! At the end of the day, who do you see in that mirror?

God, Creator of all goodness and love, help me to love like you.  In your Most Holy Name, I pray. Amen