A Guest Post: Love Does

Happy Monday! I'm so sorry I haven't been able to post consistently, especially with my guest posts. If you did not know, we moved and haven't been able to get internet set up yet. TIA - this is Africa! It could take a few more weeks. Eeek!

I was able to find a few hours on Saturday to post Laura's post and get Sharla's ready to go today!

Thank you for your patience and grace as I try my best to keep up with this blog without internet at home and a 10 month old!

Without further ado, here is Sharla's guest post for today. This woman is FULL OF WISDOM. She is only with us a few more months, so soak up all the insight you can! Get ready to be challenged to Act Here. and Love Now. Did you see what I did there? A small little plug... But it's my blog and I can do that :)

If you haven't, please take time to read Sharla's other posts Blog It Big and Family Principles. 

The words, “Love Does,” are on the chalkboard in my kitchen right now. We see those words whenever we leave our house or eat food or walk to the television. And we are usually in the process of doing one of those three activities.

It’s great to have nice, fuzzy feelings toward our family or friends or the poor across the world, but if we don’t actually do anything about it, those feelings end up being pretty useless. Love does. Love does nice things. Love does think about others more highly than ourselves. Love does pray for and give to those in need. Love does help your sister with her math. Love does unload the dishwasher with a smile.

Love Does is also the name of a book I recently stumbled across. It was written by Bob Goff, who is about the coolest person in the world. He does stuff. He has rescued children from the murdering clutches of witch doctors. He has had slumber parties with world leaders. I wish I knew him.

In discussing this with our teenage children, my husband, Mike, asked them the question, “How can you do love instead of just feel love?” It was hard for them to answer. The teenage mind has ME in the center and all the other thoughts just revolve around that simple, selfish word. “You know,” Mike explained, “we are pretty quick to judge other people by their actions, but we always judge ourselves by our intentions.”

“I totally do that,” my daughter, Makenna, fessed up. “I get upset with people when they are idiots, but I also get upset with them when they take offense to something I did because I know I didn’t mean it the way they took it.”

“I think I just need to notice more,” my son, Drake, said.

“What do you mean by that?” Mike asked.

“I intend to help people,” he explained. “But I usually don’t realize people need help until they ask me. If I noticed more, I could help people before they ask me. Like, the time I helped the guy who worked at the gas station pick up all the cups he had dropped when he tried to refill the dispenser. He was really thankful. I could do more of that. Like, I could hold the door open for people who are carrying things, or, if I’m getting something for myself I could ask if anyone else wants anything.”

I thought that was pretty good. That selfish word ME got a little bump, and, just maybe, as Drake holds open more doors and offers more people help, that word might get shoved aside once and for all. Maybe what starts with him holding open a door when he is sixteen will result in him doing battle with a witch doctor when he is thirty. 

I don’t know how to do all the things I want to do. I don’t know how to help the orphaned children in India. I don’t know how to raise giving and loving children. I don’t know how to eliminate human trafficking. I don’t know how to respond calmly and encouragingly to my stubborn, temperamental children.

But love does. 

Sharla Hintz lives in Des Moines, Iowa with her husband and four teenage children. She owns and runs a remodeling and management company with her husband, and spends most of her time trying to avoid working there.

She graduated from University of Northern Iowa with a degree in science, and puts that degree to good use by ignoring it so she can write a blog called fromthecarpoollane.blogspot.com.