A few weeks ago, a discussion
ensued in a forum I am a member of. The topic was of loving and getting hurt. One
of us said “It reminds me of my cat, I could throw it to the ceiling but it
would come back when I call it and hug me”. Well, as you have done…I burst out
in laughter at the thought of that and how it played on my mind.
Fast forward to a week ago, at
work, a delivery man stood at our department’s reception with a bouquet of
roses and a box of chocolates…you can imagine how we enviously walked past,
just wishing they were ours. Then I saw this video that went viral on social media
sites of a young girl taking care of her siblings suffering from malnutrition. She
was just a year or two older than them, and with no parents, she took up the
responsibility of showering the siblings with love and raising them. She walked several kilometers
to fetch water (the barrel looked like it weighed heavier than her) to wash the
siblings who can do nothing but lay on the soil all day.
She knew she did not have much to
offer, she could not provide food for her brother and sister, but she saw they were
unclean and she knew that she would help in that area. Now, what amused me most
and touched my heart, is this. The volunteers who had gone to visit this family
gave her a packet of cookies (I can’t remember well if they were cookies or
biscuits; but it was in a packet). The young girl chose to first feed her
siblings then took whatever had remained.
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| Credit: www.allposters.com |
I
have heard friends severally
say how they are punishing their loved ones for not doing this or that,
to them,
the misery that their loved one goes through makes them happy, soothes
their
ego. Often times I have heard people say they can only love people when
they are loved back, or can only do this or that for someone after
something has been done for/to them. We are loving, but there is always a
condition in this love; like there are conditions that have to be met
for one to give love...Have you ever seen how a pet loves their owner
(as in the story I mentioned
first)? Have you ever seen how an old grandmother takes care of her old
and
sickly husband? Have you ever seen how a child hugs a teddy bear and
says how
much they love it? Have you ever seen a person love you so much they
would die
for you every time you make a mistake just so that you may live?
With the Easter season just
around the corner, I have been thinking of this kind of love a lot lately. So much
that I have been giving more, loving others more, listening to what people say
more, being there for my friends more, buying random people who live on the
street some milk and mandazis once a
week, just to see the smile on their face. Sharing the love of Christ. I do it
because I think of what Christ did for me, and as a Christian, what I believe
in. I am alive, I am made new, just because the son of God chose to come down
to my level and give His life in exchange of mine. Why them, would I not share
this love with others? Even your significant other; Loving them, bearing with
hem, understanding them, and making them happy, sharing happiness, sacrificing
for them, reciprocating and appreciating what they do. 
As we remember the death and resurrection
of Christ for us, the author and finisher of our faith as Christians, share
some love, and strive for unconditional love.
Happy Easter from Njeri Kareithi’s
Desk.
Facebook: Njeri Kareithi
Twitter: @deekareithi
