The Greatest of These...

On Wednesday afternoon, I walked into a store in the mall and saw a tall, classically handsome young man standing there, probably about 17, very well dressed, extremely put-together--someone I would characterize as every young girl's dream. What bothered me is that he had his arms around someone, pulling them up close to his chest, kissing the top of their head. I immediately thought, “Oh my gosh. Get a room, Kid.” As I got closer, the boy whispers down, “I love you. Do you know that?” Then the person he is holding steps away, and I see that it is a boy with Down Syndrome. The boy looked up and smiled so big and just said, “Uh-huh,” then buried his face again. Immediately, my eyes filled with tears. The unashamed, unselfish act of kindness and love just completely overwhelmed me. The greatest of these is love. That's what it's all about, what Jesus showed us while here. It was amazing and inspiring, and I felt so blessed to have happened upon their moment, to have somehow been a part of it.

Today a family who mean the world to us traveled to a land far away to practice this same kind of love. While I am so sad to be without them for several months, I am certain the impact they will leave on that place will be above and beyond any of our expectations. Our friends will be doing the very same thing the young man did in the store. They are unashamedly looking at those who need to be cared for, and they are saying, "I love you. Do you know that? Here, let me show you." Again, we are so blessed to call them friends and to be a part of their amazing, inspiring moment.