Quote by Hailey Furlan

I set my eyes on a spot on the wall ahead of me as I stood posed for a spin on the high beam.  I wound up, pushed off with my rear foot, and spun until my eyes returned to their marked location. My foot landed in the lead as I steadied my position. This is how I learned my spins as a young gymnast years ago. It all began by marking the spot.

Recently, my husband and I forgot about the “marking your spot” trick while traveling in a foreign country. As the tour bus pulled to a stop in the Plaka District in Greece, our guide gave us a map, repeated the bus’s hourly schedule, and pointed out the huge landmark nearby to help us find our way back. Tour guides are good at repeating things for people like us. We got it, took a mental picture of that giant arch, and went on our way. Unfortunately, we never saw it again.

We decided that rather than shopping, we wanted to see the Acropolis which was, “straight that way.” We walked through the huge maze of quaint shops and restaurants, through neighborhoods, up and around a hill, and reached the top where the Acropolis stood high over the city.

After enjoying the view, we decided there had to be a better way down. We ended up in a different part of the Plaka district, lost. Our map didn’t help because we didn’t know where we got dropped off. There was no “X marks the spot” on it. Even the locals were having trouble finding where they were on our colorful map. Maybe it was more of a caricature than a tool. After multiple requests for help, and lots of walking, we gave up on the bus idea completely, and gratefully found a taxi back to the port!

That map, the language barrier, and our misplaced confidence threw us for a loop that day. Yet, I have faced much harder difficulties than being lost in a foreign country. My marriage and health have taken some big hits, and if it wasn’t for God and His Word, I don’t know where I would be. He restored my marriage and later, my body, from cancer. During those seasons I needed a place to fix my eyes. I needed to know the way home. It’s because of God that I didn’t completely lose my footing.

Today, if you are in a trial of your own, I hope you will mark your spot. It’s not a place on a wall, or an X on a map. It’s a person; it’s God Himself. 

He’s the One who will help you through.

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith.”

— Hebrews 12:1b-2a NIV

“Love one another deeply, from the heart.”

— 1 Peter 1:22 NIV

At the end of my good friend’s 40th birthday celebration, her husband surprised her with a wedding ceremony to renew their vows. The officiating pastor commented that younger couples “don’t see their lover’s flaws and can’t imagine getting in a fight with them.” In comparison, he noticed that couples who have been married for several years, as my friends have, will naturally experience plenty of turbulence in their marriage. 

That evening, my friend’s husband quipped, “The reason we’re not divorced is that she’s too stubborn to quit!” So, there they were, renewing their commitment after 21 years together, tenaciously contending for love – a love that sacrifices for the other’s good.

Love is important because it’s vital to our bodies and souls. Life without love would be like life without the sun.  If your heart has been broken, you understand the pain and loss of love. We need love not just from lovers, but from our friends, and families too.

We can easily see our need for love. Yet do we realize how flawed our ability to love is? Jesus says that loving God and loving people summarizes all the law. Yet, if we look at God’s commandments, we can quickly see how we fall short. We may profess love but fail to live it. Instead of sacrificially giving for another’s highest good, we meet our needs selfishly, despite the harm it causes. This is what creates the rocky road many have traveled. So, what is perfect love, and is there hope for us?

My favorite example of love is God, who is love.

God looked down from heaven and instead of despising us for our depravity, He set in motion a dramatic rescue. Jesus left heaven to sacrifice his life in our place so we could enjoy freedom from sin and death, and live for eternity with God. I’m in awe of this kind of love.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ”

— John 3:16-17 NIV

God’s love gives sacrificially. It gives instead of takes. It seeks our highest good. It holds out its arms to us all day long.  It never fails.

In terms of loving others as completely as God does, I see how I miss the mark.  But here is the beautiful thing - because God has given me his Holy Spirit … when I feel I can’t love, He can.

This is the awareness that my friends (above) have come to realize.  They have struggled and gotten back up. They have decided to put each other first and give generously and selflessly. They have renewed their vows as a sign of their commitment to love – knowing their source of love, is God.

I hope you see this applies to all relationships, not just marriage.  Is there someone you need God’s help to love? It can be difficult, but not impossible. Will you ask God to fill you with his love for that person? Ask him to help you in your specific area of weakness.

His resources never run dry. He will fill you and help you.

This filling from God is like a waterwheel … we receive to give, receive to give, receive to give … and around and around it goes. 

His love, made perfect, in us.