Day 40: Love

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
It shouldn't surprise me that I'm on Day 40 of this "You're an Overcomer" blog!  Yet, I regularly stand amazed at how perfect God's timing is!  Forty days...the coincidence is surreal.  When God destroyed the earth with water, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights.  Moses spent 40 days in the desert after killing an Egyptian.  Jesus was tempted for 40 days in the desert, and there were 40 days between Jesus's resurrection and ascension.  I could go on and on about how often the number 40 is used in the Bible to denote a time of trial, judgment and rejuvenation.  And, here I am, on the eve of a new year, writing a blog about overcoming an addiction!  Once again, reminded about how perfect God's timing is!
2017 - In Review...free write.  I close my eyes as I prepare to write.  Shifting my thoughts from present to past and trying to embody how I felt on the eve of 2016.  I remember now.  I had a choice.  A choice to be swallowed whole by the hurts of the past or a choice to step forward in faith, despite the pain.  I could dig my heels into the quicksand that engulfed me, or I could raise my eyes to the only truth I have ever known.  In choosing God's way over my own, I gained miraculous shoes, fitted with the gospel of peace, that elevated me above the pit of despair.  It was the best choice I ever made in my life.  While 2016 was a year of pain and misery, 2017 was a year of rebirth and renewal.    Tonight, on the eve of 2107, I lay quietly by my husband.  Feeling his breath on my skin reminds me of how blessed I am to have him in my life.  True repentance.  Full forgiveness.  This is what love is.  Love is loving despite the failures.  "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails."  This is what I learned in 2017.  I learned how to love, and how to be loved.