Monday, 1st Week: Choose Love By Taking Small Steps Daily

"You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people. but you shall love your neighbor as yourself."   Leviticus 19:17-18

The knowledge of being loved in an unconditional way, before the world presents us with its conditions cannot come from books, lectures, telephone programs or workshops. This spiritual knowledge comes from people who witness to God's love for us through their words and deeds. These people can witness to God's love for us through their words and deeds. These people can be close to us, but they can also live far away or may even have lived long ago. Their witness announces the truth of God's love and calls us to act in accordance with it ...

How can we choose love when we have experienced so little of it? We choose love by taking small steps of love every time there is an opportunity. A smile, a handshake, a word of encouragement, a phone call, a card, an embrace, a kind greeting, a gesture of support, a moment of attention, a helping hand, a present, a financial contribution, a visit - all these are little steps toward love.

Each step is like a candle burning in the night. It does not dispel the darkness, but it guides us through the darkness.

"O Lord, help me to take the small steps of love I need to take today."

Henri Nouwen