The other day I was in Target and ran across this old lady who just needed to talk… at least that’s what I thought at the time. Now that I can take a look at the situation from a different point of view it has given me the opportunity to switch my pair a dime.

You see this lady was a sweet old lady who had the gift to gab. At the time I thought “ I don’t think this lady is every going to be quiet.” However now that I can look back I think about how that opportunity was the perfect opportunity to live out scripture. We are commanded to love one another…not just when its comfortable or in the right timing for our life. We are to love at all times.

Thanks to that sweet old lady in Target I have taken some time to think about the practical ways that each of us can love the people around us. Whether they are close friends or just people we pass by on the street… We are called to Above All Love…

Ways to love the people around us…

Smile.

Crack a joke.

Help the carry out person wrangle a couple stray carts. Write a real paper and pen note to someone you will never really know how much that can mean to someone. Call your parents and tell them you noticed how much smarter they got after you went to college.

Hold the door for someone.

Let the person behind you go ahead of you in line…even if they have more items than you do. Volunteer to take someone to the airport – and pick them up when they return. Don’t go through the shirt pile at Target like a hog rooting for truffles…find your size and stack the rest neatly back. Pay attention to body language – if the words say “I’m fine” and the face says, “I’m not fine”, ask what’s wrong. Then listen.

Develop eyes for the “invisible people”…they are created in the image of God.

Hold someone’s hand.

Send someone in need an anonymous gift card with a note, “God will never let you down.” Don’t go slow in the fast lane. Help someone change a tire.

Mow your neighbors yard…

Offer your God-given talents to the church and community. Make the cashier at WalMart laugh. Hug. Visit someone in the hospital. Clean up your mess.

Own your mistakes. Say “I’m sorry.”

Forgive.

Ask someone, “How can I pray for you?”

Then pray.

Give an I-Tunes gift card with a note, “Buy the music that speaks to your heart.” Stop being grouchy. Compliment other people’s kids. Take out the trash without being asked.

Leave a big tip.

Be patient with kids.

Buy a bag of groceries for someone, put them on the step and do a “ring and run” (it’ll be a rush and you’ll feel like a kid again.) Rake leaves for an elderly person who wishes they could but can’t. Give a single parent a break by entertaining their kids for an evening. Pay compliments to those who least expect it…”Something I always notice when I come here is how clean it is. Thanks for scrubbing those restrooms. You do a great job.” :)

Make those who feel insignificant feel significant. Make those who feel unloved feel loved. Call out the obvious talent you see in someone and spur them to develop it.

Stop being prideful. Apologize.

Call a long lost friend in another state, tell them to go outside and look at the same moon while you talk about old times.

Play a practical joke. Make a memory.

Be thankful.

Be grateful.

Live your life as a gift to God.

Point people to Jesus.

“This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.” –
1 John 3:1