An Inauspicious Day

So, have you ever woken up, walked into the bathroom, glanced in the mirror, and just...known...that the day was going to be irksome, irritating, and inauspicious?  (Yes, that's your word for the day - look it up, drop it in a conversation, and watch people stare.)

Anyway, that was what I did this morning.  *sigh*  It probably explains why I picked up Jerry Bridges' The Discipline of Grace last night.   Somewhere in the second chapter, he started talking about the great love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, and how to practice love in practical ways in our day-to-day lives.  What really caught my attention was his restatement of the verses as action statements.  It's like God knew I would need to remember this today, a day when it's tough to love people:

• I am patient with you because I love you and want to forgive you.
  
• I am kind to you because I love you and want to help you.
• I do not envy your possessions or your gifts because I love you and want you to have the best.
• I do not boast about my attainments because I love you and want to hear about yours.
• I am not proud because I love you and want to esteem you before myself.
• I am not rude because I love you and are about your feelings.
• I am not self-seeking because I love you and want to meet your needs.
• I am not easily angered by you because I love you and want to overlook your offenses.
• I do not keep a record of your wrongs because I love you, and "love covers a multitude of sins."

Isn't that beautiful?