Lent Reflection: Saturday, March 4

Saturday was a day of travel for me. I woke early and could not sleep and spent time watching some television and was in my head quite a bit. The television I watched was The Americans a show set in the early 1980s about a husband and wife who were brought together as KGB spies to serve undercover in the United States. The couple has grown to love one another after 20 years and while the stress of the job and the fact of the 'job' itself seems to create appearances that they cannot show their love, they do have this quality in their lives.

The focus for my meditation on Saturday was Nik, my dear husband of 20 years. We have been together nearly 30 years, and we've seen the better and some worse, and we still love one another. Most of my actions were dedicated to service of him yesterday. I spent time at the knife outlet in Sevierville getting some things that he wanted for himself and others. It's a labor of love for me to do these things for him. While it has material appearances, it remains as a gesture of love.

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord; 

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 

and with all your soul, and with all your might. 

And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; 

and you shall teach them diligently to your children, 

and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, 

and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, 

and when you rise. -- Deuteronomy 6:4-7

In my time thinking about and praying for Nik on Saturday, I am astounded by his constant kindnesses to others. He embraces all the best things that people have to offer and willingly sacrifices where he is able and where it will benefit those who need more than he does. His work in the world is service by nature and he seeks to do nothing more than serve others, even me. I found a tweet that he posted last Monday, when I was home ill and unable to function due to a massive sinus infection.

NikHavert My #mondaymotivation is nursing @mandylyn as she deals with a sinus infection.

It's these small but powerful things that remind me how much I am loved here on Earth and that point to the love beyond imagination that God has for us.