This month our blog is focusing on authenticity. I’m a big fan of authenticity, and can sometimes take people aback with my transparency. As a widow, with teenagers and a special-needs child, in a multi-racial family, I fear I may sometimes get too real, too fast for some people. (“Whoops, TMI?”) BUT there are times in my life that authenticity is a challenge - when things are SO tough, it’s awkward to bring up. Like, “ drain the energy out of a room” tough. I think we all go through seasons like that, when a simple question like, “How are you?” seems too loaded to answer authentically.

Even writing a blog this week was a challenge. Our family is walking through some tough stuff! How can I write something eloquent for the blog right now? And if I’m being honest, we’re not really “walking through” - that sounds too graceful. It’s more like we are clambering through some battles! Phew! So let’s just dive in together and take a look at the passage:

Colossians 3:14-15

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

The words love, unity, peace, and thankfulness sound so nice, don’t they? During these hard moments in my life, I tend to look at these words longingly, like they are not yet attainable in my current state.

I make the mistake of looking at these words, much like I look at a picture of a nice vacation:

“Wouldn’t THAT be nice to have more of in my life?”

“Just a little more work, a little more hustle, get through this stress, and then I can do THAT.”

“After this hard thing is behind me, THEN I’ll be able to have some peace!”

“Once we get over this bumpy part of our relationship, then we’ll REALLY be able to love each other.”

And once we arrive at this wonderful love and peace fest, THEN we’ll have so much to be thankful for!

This week I caught myself wishing and waiting for love and peace to hurry up and come. Thankfulness and unity felt even further out of my reach! Tears flowing, praying and hoping that AFTER this difficult part I’m in, I’ll have a chance just to love easily and enjoy peace easily. If only… Lord, then I’ll be so thankful. It will be easy to be thankful then.

Are you waiting for the easy part?

Remember that easy time - at work, in your marriage, with your child, before that hard situation or that headline - when it felt easy to be at peace? Maybe even easy to love? Remember that time you were so thankful? But now it's messy. It's complicated. It's in crisis and you couldn’t untangle it or fix it on your own, even if you did everything just right.

THAT’S what this passage is about! It was written to a people group in the middle of messy, hard stuff. All those other virtues Paul refers to in the earlier verse - compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness - may seem so far off in the mess… but none of them are worth much, without the LOVE that binds them. So let’s start there.

Put ON love.

LET peace rule.

When was the last time a vacation just happened? Have you ever miraculously woken up on a beach with a lovely breeze, maybe a cool drink in your hand and everything just happened? No! That’s why it’s called going ON vacation. Because it is intentional, set aside, separate from the stress that just happens. You plan, clear out time, invest resources and intentionally go ON vacation.

So it is with love.

“Put ON love”. In the same way, this scripture tells us to put ON love. In the middle of this difficult season, plan to love. Clear out time to love. Invest money and intention into loving those around you. Not your old way of loving - but God’s way. Put God’s love ON. And what will follow? Unity. All of your other God-given virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience will be bound up in perfect unity. Love binds together the good stuff in us and covers over the bad stuff.

1 Peter 4:8 ~ Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins.

And “LET peace rule”. Let it enter your heart, enter your circumstance, enter this space right now. You could push it away so easily with worry, but you were called to peace by the Prince of Peace. So give the worry over in prayer. Let it go and allow peace to rule. And what will follow? Thankfulness. Let His perfect peace push out the worry, the fear, the looming future. Start thanking him. Today. Right now. Thank him for this battle you are in, give it to Him to wage. Thank Him for that looming future that He holds in His hands. Trust, obey, and let peace rule.

Isaiah 26:3 ~ You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.

Much like the Colossians, we find ourselves in a messy life, with lots of battles being waged. Let us as one body, keep our minds steadfast on the love and peace we are called to. Let us find rest and comfort because we put His love ON and LET His peace rule. Make room for it in your heart, mind, schedule, in your home, and in conversations. Let us collectively and deeply breathe in His love and peace, and exhale His unity and thankfulness.

What situation in your life is God challenging you to “put on love”?

What area do you need to allow God’s peace to rule?

What do you need to be thankful for today?