Q. Ahem! The story!?
A. Yeeee! But before that, a bit of a clarification perhaps I should have made earlier: love is indeed a decision. But a decision for what? A decision to want the best for another. What is the best for the other? Heaven. So effectively to truly love someone means to want heaven for them; to want them to achieve eternal and infinite happiness. But since "love is deeds, not sweet words", that wanting has to be lived out in concrete deeds: what can I do here and now to ensure my husband makes it to heaven? What can I do here and now to make my girlfriend's life easier and more pleasant? What can I do here and now to treat my close friend or child or parent or enemy just like Jesus treats them (since Jesus wants to get them to heaven)?
Q. Done? You talk too much sometimes...
A. Dude!
Q. Ebu the story...
A. Eish! Sawa!
It's from a French lady who died of pneumonia at the age of 24 at the beginning of the last century... This was one of the entries she had in her diary that is today considered a spiritual classic.
"Formerly one of our nuns managed to irritate me whatever she did or said. The devil was mixed up in it, for it was certainly he who made me see so many disagreeable traits in her. As I did not want to give way to my natural dislike for her, I told myself that charity (love) should not only be a matter of feeling but should show itself in deeds. So I set myself to do for this sister just what I should have done for someone I loved most dearly. Every time I met her, I prayed for her and offered God all her virtues and her merits. I was sure this would greatly delight Jesus, for every artist likes to have his works praised...
I [also] tried to do as many things for her as I could, and whenever I was tempted to speak unpleasantly to her, I made myself give her a pleasant smile and tried to change the subject...
When I was violently tempted by the devil and if I could slip away without her seeing my inner struggle, I should flee like a soldier deserting the battlefield. And after all this she asked me one day with a beaming face: "Sister Therese, will you please tell me what attracts you so much to me? You give me such a charming smile whenever we meet." Ah! It was Jesus hidden in the depth of her soul who attracted me, Jesus who makes the bitter things sweet!”
Sweet dreams!
5th December 2015