Good bye! I love you

 My daughter Olivia just started driving. Big milestone indeed.

Truth be told, I think she is annoyed by her brother Isaac.

It’s one thing when others say

“Isaac is so sweet" or “He must be an angel!”

Try living with someone who repeatedly does things that disturb your peace. This can be hard for everyone…but even more difficult for a teen girl. 

Things like ...

Walking around 1/2 dressed.

Eating your food when your turn around for a moment.

Lately, he has been spitting out food and then re-eating it… 

Screaming in the car.

When you are excited but have to “wait” to talk to mom and dad because they are helping Isaac use the restroom or bathe.

In fact, we had a family meeting once and she said she always feels like she gets our “left overs.”

Absolutely broke my heart!!

As she is a new driver she left the other day and I prayed with her…

Then before she closed the door she shouted out "Good bye Isaac! I love you"

For some reason the words lingered in the air like a rain cloud...

"Good bye Isaac! I love you!"

She knew he wouldn't respond back.

He rarely responds back.

She knew that and said it anyway.

How many times have we ( Olivia, Chuck or I ) said something to Isaac and received no response...

Countless.

I was getting choked up.

Olivia wanted to tell her brother she loved him although it is hard for her to truly know if he loves her back.

Isaac has a disability so definitely our situation is different.

But this moment got me thinking...

How many friends and family members do I know who are estranged from a loved one?

A loved one who is on the street (strung out on drugs or alcohol)

Or a loved one who simply walked away from Jesus and wants nothing to do with you and your Jesus.

How many text messages are sent with no response?

Good bye ____! I love you!

We probably all can put a name in there.

I often receive prayer requests for prodigals. People who once proclaimed they knew Christ as Savior and now have left the faith.

It's as if God Himself is saying "Good bye John! I love you!"

God loves you anyway. He keeps His porch light on waiting for them to come home.

(see the prodigal son story in the scriptures and Google John MacArthur's teaching on this! "A Tale of Two Sons" Powerful!)

God has used Isaac to teach all of us the agape love of the Father. To love, when you do not receive or get love back.

In many romance movies/plays and books you read dramas of "unrequited love." When a person loves someone so intensely and never receives that love back. Remember Hosea? God used this man of God, a prophet and instructed him to marry a prostitute by the name of Gomer. He does and she goes back to the world. She cheats and cheats and he still prays for her, and takes her back. Unbelievable. Only God can give us love for the unlovable, or those who appear to NOT want to love us back.

1 John 4:19 reads, "We love him, because he first loved us."

God's love to us does not always make sense. He loved us while we were yet sinners. (Rom 5:8) Olivia shouted out "I love you" even though she was 100% certain he was not going to acknowledge her or say it back or even show it back one day. She still keeps on loving her brother. I cannot fully convey how special this is. I thank God for Olivia Grace. I thank God for that moment. I thank God He let me notice that she did that, keys in hand, back pack in tow, ready to go to 11th grade...She made sure to let it be known that she loved her brother and wanted him to know it. 

Praise God for His steadfast love! He never gives up on us. We must continue to pray, fast and the love those "hard people" in our lives, whether we see them or not. Whether they live in our state/country or not, or even if they hate us. We must keep praying for them and remember that God's love is always willing to take them back, if only they will respond and turn around.