Amy Boucher Pye

Tag: love

Devotional of the Week: Never-ending Love (4 in Psalm 98 series)

Photo: Chris R., flickr

He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel… Psalm 98:3

Today in celebrity culture we see the phenomenon of the “starter marriage,” so called because people view their first marriage as a stepping stone to move up the social scale as they find a more affluent mate. The qualities of love, faithfulness and commitment lose power as the current spouse is tossed aside for the new one.

I admit my example is extreme, and not one I’ve seen in Christian circles – and I don’t want to incite pain by mentioning broken marriages, for we live in a fallen world where followers of Jesus suffer betrayal too. But though we fail, we know that the Lord will never stop loving us or being committed to us. He will never tire of us, disposing of us in the quest for the bigger or better or more accomplished. His love remains.

Do we believe this at the level of our hearts? Do we live out of the assurance that the Lord’s love is foundational for our lives? If we find we are struggling to believe God’s promises, a simple exercise can impart deep-reaching change. That is, write out the Lord’s promises in Scripture as if he is speaking them directly to us, inserting our name. So with Psalm 98:3, I would say, “He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Amy.” Something to try?

Prayer: Your love, Lord, never ends. Your faithfulness, Father God, remains. Your grace fills my soul, and I am home. Amen.

November 16, 2016
The paradoxes of love

God showers us with his extravagant love – poured out, pressed down, overflowing. His love changes us, for because we are loved, we can love. We don’t have to be stingy or miserly in showing love or even in sharing our physical possessions.

May we all show love today, whether we are pleased or shattered by recent political events. Love binds us together.

June 30, 2016
Devotional of the week: Love, love, love (5 in 1 Peter 4 series)

Photo: Dustin Gaffkey, flickr

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Recently I was texting a friend, and the auto-correct turned my words into, “I’m paying that God will give you strength today.” Imagine if we had to pay God to answer our prayers! Thankfully no payment is involved, at least by us. God’s never-ending love involved his Son giving his life as payment instead. His love covers a multitude of sins.

Of course, Peter is not talking specifically about God’s love here, but the love we as his children should show each other. As we live in the light of eternity, we are to cover our relationships in a thick spreading of love – one that is thicker than dollops of cream and jam on a scone. We know the root of this love comes from God’s love for us.

One of my friends at times is tempted to despair that people in her family will never change. She sees a controlling and self-centered father, a mother who acquiesces and an immature sister. And that’s not even describing her husband’s family. Although she sets boundaries in place, she also prays regularly for her family, that God would break through with his grace and love. She extends love, letting it wash away that multitude of sins.

Is there one person you could show extra love to today? Perhaps you could spend some time asking God to reveal who that might be, and how you could love them.

Prayer: Father, we love because you first loved us. Help us to be your hands and feet – and heart. Amen.

May 18, 2015
The things we love

All the talk of royal babies has got me thinking about the beloved cuddly toys of childhood. Do you still have a favorite stuffed animal? I do; my bear with its sewed-up neck peeks out in my study, more a thing of sentiment than of love these days. It’s old, musty, and is marked with paint. Its head won’t stay upright because I used to clutch it to me, throttling it close, neck in my arms. I keep as a reminder of childhood love.

PyelotBoy’s first favorite animal was Quackers. We had several, for fear of losing one. Indeed, when my dad took him and the duck for a walk, they lost Quackers. Thankfully we had another one that was easily exchanged.

But soon PyelotBoy knew which was the real Quackers, and no other one could substitute. The Quackers he loved had a “poor eye,” which was fitting, for PyelotBoy had a poor eye too, one that had to be strengthened through patching the other eye and eventually surgery.

Then Quackers lost some of his appeal when Freddy the Frog came onto the scene. Given to him by American friends, this frog was everything for awhile. Then he lost interest. And PyelotBoy has grown out of stuffed animals now, with Quackers and Freddy shoved into a corner of a wardrobe. When I catch sight of them, I smile and feel a rush of love, thinking of my sweet boy who is growing up so quickly.

But the two items that I see regularly around the house are Fleece and Baby Elmo. When I look at them, I feel that same swell of love and affection. For they are CutiePyeGirl’s favorite things. They have traveled to the States countless times, and have been to Ireland and Wales and Spain and many a place in England. Only one time were they left behind, when we spent a couple of days at our friends’ house outside of London. The first night was tough, but CutiePyeGirl coped.

I have to admit I fail to see the extent of Baby Elmo’s appeal. As a creature he’s not the most attractive with his big plastic head and wizened body. I have to be careful when handing him to CutiePyeGirl, for his head is hard and could hurt her. Fleece, in contrast, is all soft and cuddly, and has become a character in her eyes. It’s grown from the skin of a sheep to something that almost has its own living characteristics.

If our house was on fire and everyone was safe, I would definitely grab Quackers, Freddy, Fleece, and Baby Elmo. I’m grateful for the way the children have loved them. Our children aren’t royalty – they probably wouldn’t even qualify by marriage, being half Yankee-Doodles – but they certainly are a prince and princess to us. And to the King, to whom they are direct descendants.

What was your favorite cuddly toy?

July 24, 2013
Jesus loves the little children…

The view from our Land Rover.
Looks like we’ll wait a bit…

We were driving along a dirt road in Tanzania, making our way from the lush game parks to dusty Dodoma, the political capital. It was the dry season, so the roads were passable, although filled with potholes bigger than a small child. Our hotel had packed us some lunches in nifty boxes – breaded meats, packets of nuts, and the sweet small bananas I had never tasted from a Western supermarket. With adult-sized lunches packed for our two small children, we had the equivalent of one lunch leftover.

After an hour or so of the bumpy journey, our driver saw a clump of children by the side of the road and asked if we could give the excess food to them. “Why yes,” we exclaimed, embarrassed that we hadn’t thought of it ourselves. We slowed and I opened my window, motioning to a little boy. I pointed to the box and asked him if he’d like it, knowing that he wouldn’t understand English but not knowing how to communicate except through words and motions. Then I asked if I could take his photograph, showing him my camera.

The boy holding our leftovers from lunch.
What was he thinking?

How I wished I could have understood what he was saying, and to hear what his life was like, a little Maasai boy perhaps owning only the clothes on his back. Jesus loves him as much as he loves my boy, who has more shirts than he can wear and more food than he can eat.

Jesus loves the privileged; Jesus loves the poor. His love for us is so all-encompassing and overwhelming that we may struggle to comprehend it. But look at how Jesus shows his love as recorded in the Bible. For instance, one day people were bringing their children to Jesus, asking him to bless them. But the disciples got angry and rebuked the parents. Jesus was indignant, however, saying to the disciples: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). He gathered the children in his arms and blessed them.

In one simple action, Jesus shatters the cultural expectations. For children were then ranked even lower than slaves – they had no status and were often pushed aside as weak. In fact, people often simply threw away unwanted children at birth. Unseemly types would seek out these disposed-of babies and raise them for their own purposes – as gladiators or prostitutes. Or they would disfigure them so that the children would be more heart-rending and lucrative beggars. But to Jesus children were no longer outcasts or distractions, but vitally important members of the kingdom of God.

Close bonds between mother and offspring. How much more does God, our parent, love us.

People are worth everything to God. He made us and delights in us. He showers us with love – the love of a father and a mother. He leads us with cords of human kindness; with ties of love. He delights in us, quieting us with his love and rejoicing over us with singing.

Which children can you love today? Or grown-up children?

May 22, 2013