Hello, God. It's me, Mara.

You know Lord, sometimes when one gives a gift, one gets something back. We recall a paper rose given to a dear Aunty quite a long time ago. No matter when or what was given to her, she always sent/gave a "thank you" note, occasionally mentioning Galatians 5:13, emphasizing the latter part of the verse "... but through love, serve one another[1]."

Aunty knew the word "serve" could mean many things, for example, wait on, minister to, care for, help and assist, even to perform. We all have many opportunities each day to do this and Aunty was a good example for her "relatives" to follow.

Just remembering Aunty reminds us of an incident in church the other day. It seems like it's coughing season; one lady was coughing, trying to hide the cough in her elbow, like we're supposed to do. A lady sitting behind her tapped her on her shoulder and handed her a cough lozenge. That was love!

It's enjoyable and sometimes exciting to do unexpected nice things for people, but the key to all of this is love. There is a whole column of synonyms for love, both as a noun and as a verb, which is an action word.

Action words are great. It's the heart attitude that is the important thing there: like, am I doing this for You, God, or for me? If it's just for me, the good things accomplished won't last, but if it's for You, Lord, we know from experience how You can multiply things and make all things good.

Roses remind some of us of love from our special Aunty, she was a wonderful specimen of that verse - all of her life - for all of her family and her extended family which included quite a few people.

Love, Mara

(1) Galatians 5:13-26 KJV 13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.