Winter love

As many of you know, my little sister was born with the gift of down syndrome. Now some may call that a mental disability, but it's also a blessing! Elissa has a life that is filled with a rare mixture of simple complexity. She is absolutely smart, and yet her mind is more simple as she lives with childlike faith. She is able to feel the full range of emotions, and find herself at peace with life. This, I find, is difficult to explain. Sometimes I too wish for that kind of life, but things are different for those who find that they are able to live in the chaos of everyday life, work, relationships to the fullest extent. At the same time as finding this life difficult in it's different seasons, I am grateful for all the ways in which it proves to provide an opportunity to learn and grow.
When I came back from my brief trip to Europe this last fall, one of my dear friends reminded me of how life is a process. I think that we, especially as Americans, want the end result now, or to take the quickest route to the final destination. However, in this last wintry season, God has been teaching me how great and important the process of getting where we are going is, even greater than the end result in many ways. It is there that we are shaped and molded into who we are to be, to become. We learn, we change, and we can make choices that will affect how the rest of our lives will turn out. Do we take the harder times and allow for them to root in bitterness and frustration, or do we give them over to the One who made us and cares deeper for us than we could ever know and allow Peace, Wisdom, and Life to become more abundant through and in our lives? I believe it is far more difficult to give our lives for the latter, though far more rewarding!
My parents have a large boxer named Sarge. He is the sweetest dog, but you know that if there was danger he would prove to be some good protection! Currently, I am at my parents house watching my little sister while my parents are out working in different forms...my mom at her job in the library, and my dad at his wood turning class/club. As I get up to fill my coffee cup, or go to another room in the house, Sarge follows me. And where I stop, there he stops too. He is lying on the floor of this room as I type. If it were possible he would be a lap dog, though he is far too large for that! Instead, he lives for love, to love, and for the touch of people. When you sit, he rests his head on your lap to remind you that he's there. I guess that's part of the reason why people love dogs so much. They are faithful and they love you pretty much no matter what. I liken that to God's love. God's love follows us around wherever we go, it is faithful and constant in our lives, and I believe we as humans really need that.
My cousin who lives in California sent along an e-mail to me that shared an illustration. The illustration was that of a $20 bill. Even if it has been crumpled up, stepped on, dirtied, it still holds its value and you still want it. That's how it is with God. He still loves us and values us no matter what life has brought us. Here is a bit of the message that he sent:
"Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE."
That's why the processes of our lives are so important. It forms who we are, who we will become, what what or who we believe in. Let us be thankful for winter as one of the seasons that shapes us. Let us allow it to transform us more into the image of the One who is love!