I'm painting those words as a gift for a friend who is getting married soon. 'Love is patient.'
We had the whole passage from Corinthians read at our wedding, Andy's Dad read it for us. It is quite a long reading but contains some beautiful sentiments. This is my favourite part:
From 1 Corinthians 13, verses 4-8, and 13: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ...And now these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. But the greatest of these is Love." (New International Version)
I think part of what I find so inspiring in these words is how they challenge us to hold on to love above all else in our dealings with the world. Love perseveres. It's so easy to slip into impatience, anger, frustration, keeping 'score' in our relationships as we move through life. Actually focussing on the conscious decision to choose love is something I would like to do more often in my relationships.
As my friend approaches marriage I think that I'd like to celebrate how patient her and her fiance have already been and to help her remember that while marriage is such an amazing gift it is not always an easy, straight forward journey. The patience they have already demonstrated with each other as they worked their way through complicated visa issues will hold them in good stead for all that is to come in their future lives together. I wish them a long, healthy, happy, abundant and joy-filled life together. But most of all I wish them love.