Monday, April 4, 2011

Well of affection

The hardest of all is learning to be a well of affection, and not a fountain, to show them that we love them, not when we feel like it, but when they do.

--Nan Fairbrother

6 comments:

  1. This is a hard lesson to be learned!

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  2. Sure is.
    To be a well of affection, you have to be basically "indifferent" as to who is "drawing water from your well" what they are like, how nice they are, how "undeserving" they may appear. In other words, just give out your love even if the other person is a pain in the neck.
    Not easy. Not easy at all.

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  3. Robert, that does not sound easy or even desirable. To be indifferent, is making ourselves be numb to others. I guess I will just remain a "fountain".

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  4. Hannah, I don't mean "to be numb" but to treat all with the same measure, love neighbor, friend and enemy, without self-centeredness. My poor choice of words.

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  5. Dear Hannah, Robert, and other friends,

    I apologize for my absence. The daughter of a dear friend of mine began to get sick last week and finally had to be hospitalized on Friday night. I've been trying to help her and her family, and I haven't had much time here each day to do more than make a quick post. Please pray for Betsy to get well soon.

    Thank you for your edifying comments; they mean so much to me! It is "holy indifference" of which Robert has written, Hannah: the kind that a friend, one who loves at all times, must have. A well is deep and strong and always there, just waiting to give to the thirsty traveler who drinks from it.

    That is love: the patient waiting of the lover for the beloved, the willing gift of self with no thought of what might be given in return. It is the way in which the good God loves us; and it is the way we must love one another. May Almighty God bless you both, Hannah and Robert.

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  6. Dear Kindred Spirit, thank you for your additional thoughts, and of course, I will keep you and your friends in my prayers. I wish the very best for them and for you, and you Hannah as well.

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