it’s just what you do.

“love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. this is the first and greatest commandment. and the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself.”

that’s it. bottom line. jesus said it. if you’re a christian you really have no choice. its just what you do. loving god and loving others is what life is all about.

i’ve certainly learned some big time life lessons this year. if someone were to ask me about the greatest lesson i’ve learned it would be this: love others. it seems plain and simple, but so many people just don’t get it.

last week, a close family friend lost her son. he was serving in the military in afghanistan and stepped on a landmine. it was heartbreaking to hear the news. we weren’t particularly close to this young man, but we have many childhood memories of great times with his family. it was just so hard to imagine his mom, who had lost her husband suddenly two years ago, going through the pain of losing another loved one. and a son at that.

aaron’s funeral was way harder for me than i could have imagined. i don’t know why i can’t prepare myself for these things ahead of time. it hit me like a ton of bricks when we stepped into the gymnasium and “i will rise” started blaring over the speakers. perfect. tears came and never left.

it was so sad but so beautiful. there were hundreds of people there. tons of men in uniform who had traveled far and wide to show support to this grieving mother and brother. it was just amazing to see the military rise up and be a thriving example of  what the body of christ should be. it warmed my hurting heart.

i sat there yesterday and was reminded that loving others is just what you do. that’s it! it’s not an option and it’s not hard. i believe that we were put on this earth for two reasons: to love god and to love others. god doesn’t care if its inconvenient. he doesn’t give a rat’s ass if someone else is doing it. it doesn’t matter if you’re too busy or if you’re that hurting person’s bff. don’t let someone else take responsibility for the care of your fellow human. get your hands dirty and put your love hat on. ITS JUST WHAT YOU DO.