Love that Grows

I’m the oldest child in my family. I got married young and we had our three children pretty much straight away, so my kids didn’t have any cousins until they were well into primary school. The cousins get on well even though they are always living life in different seasons to each other – or maybe because of that!

When my kids moved into the “get married and have kids” season of life there was much excitement and anticipation amongst the younger cousins. There were weddings to attend and flower girl dresses to be worn, and when our eldest daughter told the family she was expecting a baby there was great excitement among the primary aged and early teenaged cousins!

When the baby, Olivia, was born, she became the highlight of all family gatherings as often happens with babies.

It was at one of these family gatherings that our second daughter told the whole family she was expecting a baby. The excitement was intense, especially as this baby had been a while coming. But not everyone was happy – my nephew was sitting very quietly with a heavy look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” his big sister asked him.
“What’s going to happen when the new baby is born?” he asked, and when his sister look puzzled he went on to say, “We have a baby already and we all love Olivia so much – how will there be enough love for another one?”

I knew what he meant – I remember thinking something like that when I was pregnant with our second child – my heart was so full of love for the child we had I couldn’t imagine how I could love another one as well.

As the grownups were contemplating their response to the boy’s question, his big sister said this,
“It will be okay buddy, love doesn’t divide – it grows.”

And, sure enough, when Will was born, we loved him fiercely without taking any love away from Olivia.  

I think of this story about love growing and not dividing whenever I think about love. And when I think about love I think about God, the author of ever growing and never dividing, never diminishing love. The author of a love that nothing in all the world can take away from us.

Centuries ago in his letter to the church in Rome, Paul said of God’s love, “Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow…”

God has love enough for us all and nothing can take that away.

Karen Siggins
Lead Pastor - Lesmurdie Baptist Church