To love like them . . . .

These ladies are the most precious of givers to everyone around them. They quietly and deliberately serve - all the time. Serving is not a job to them, it is a way of life. I want to love like them.

There are people on this earth that have the "it" factor when it comes to showing love to others. The kind of people who are always able to focus on others more than themselves. You know the ones  . . . when you are with them you always find that you are talking about yourself (even though you vowed not to and to be the one listening BUT before you know it you hear yourself sharing something that you never intended to talk about!) #how'dtheydothat OR you find that they are just naturally and joyfully making the air around you easier to breathe somehow. They see ways to help and they jump in.

Youngest asked for them to make her rice (because we don't make it like they do - she says!) and we ended up with a whole meal of rice, fried meatballs, meatballs in salsa, beans, etc. The girls so enjoyed being in the kitchen with them and learning their tricks!

You know the ones. Even though you set out to bless them, you walk away from being with them feeling more alive, more refreshed, more loved down deep. They have a way. They just do. I'm not talking about people who are avoiding talking about themselves because they are hiding from something, trying to distract, or don't want to be vulnerable or to engage personally. NO, I'm talking about the ones that just have a way of disarming others, pouring in love and blessings, those that give, give, give as if giving is an involuntary reflex like breathing. I WANT TO LOVE LIKE THEM . . . .

Several weeks ago we had some friends from the north coast come to visit. They are the THEM - some of them anyway! They have always made us feel loved and appreciated - every single one of us. On Saturday morning, I woke up to them sweeping and mopping my house and trimming dead leaves off of my plants with the kids on the porch. Like little fairies they made their way around the house - sweeping and mopping and cleaning out places that hadn't been cleaned in a long time! I was like, "HEY! NO! STOP! I did that yesterday (well, the sweeping part). Please don't clean. You don't need to do that! Relax. Rest." The oldest daughter said, "Mom, they are SO happy to do this. Its what they do. They WANT to do it. Stop fighting it. Receive." But I had planned on blessing them while they were with us! I wanted to show them the love that they had always shown us! Hopefully in some small way they did feel blessed, but I guarantee that it was not to the same extent that they blessed us. If blessing were a competion #blessfest we'd lose to them everytime, but I still want to try to love like them! Because truth be told, how is there really any losing when you are intentional about thinking about other people and looking for ways to bless them? Yes, I want to love like them.

The Sawyers love these ladies so much. They are a blessing to everyone, everywhere! Thanks for loving like Christ, Lucia and Odilcia!