Love Starts At Home

On Sundays I come to SafeHouse Outreach and open the building so the morning service and feeding can take place. As of lately I have been bringing my daughter Emma with me and while the service is happening we usually go for a walk to one of the Atlanta parks or playgrounds. This past week while we were on our way to SHO I noticed that Emma had picked out one of her Barbies to bring with us. Out of an attempt to make conversation with a six year old, I asked Emma why she picked that particular Barbie to bring with her. That was when she explained to me that she loved this particular Barbie because Alicia, my wife, had made all the clothes for the doll. She then said to me, “there is a lot of love in this one.”

When I turned and looked at the Barbie I noticed that the clothes were in fact hand made. Alicia and Emma had sometime ago made Barbie clothes out of old socks and fabrics we had around the house. This particular Barbie was made with a fabric that had lots of hearts in the design. I suppose that is what my six year old was referring too, but I found a deeper meaning in her words.

Alicia, who is a stay at home mom had taken the time to help Emma make dresses for her Barbies. That may not seem like a big deal to some, but to Emma it meant the world.

Love is often times spelt T-I-M-E. I am always confused by people who love the whole world, but loose their family in the process. I must admit that I have tendencies in my own life to do that very thing. If am going to show love to complete strangers then I must first start by making sure those closest to me are loved.

I think Mother Teresa said it best when she said, “It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.”

Friends, I hope you will learn this lesson with me. Live Love at home… Then look to see how your love can make a difference elsewhere.