A Little Less of Me

More of Him, less of me.

(a little less of me, 365 Day 127 Photo)

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments you will… This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15: 5, 9-10,12

I’ve read the book of John before. But this time some different things stood out. Like my responsibility to love, not just “not hate,” and the strength I am given to do this, even when it is hard.

I was kind of stuck last fall. I don’t know exactly when I un-stuck but I did this 8 month study, closed my mouth more, and now I feel more free to love, like when I was younger.

I know I can love through a crisis, when mistreated, through the re-opening of past wounds, through weird circumstances, and on ordinary days where I’d just like to keep it all for me.

I’m not even going to pretend I will all the time. But I feel certain that I can. He was clear about how to do it: “Abide in me and let My words abide in you.”

I think that was the difference. Taking in more of His word, even though not daily or anything, did fill my head with Truth about me, my family, and other people, instead of what I thought I knew. I think it’s given me the strength to relax and love better.

It wasn’t fast, because I’d been hitting a wall for a while, but it was a simple process. Get more of Him in me and the bad stuff just kind of falls out.