{"id":6563,"date":"2016-07-20T10:00:04","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T15:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=6563"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:45:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:45:15","slug":"love-as-ive-loved-you-or-i-will-turn-this-minivan-around","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2016\/07\/20\/love-as-ive-loved-you-or-i-will-turn-this-minivan-around\/","title":{"rendered":"Love as I’ve loved you … OR I WILL TURN THIS MINIVAN AROUND!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo
Photo courtesy of Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a mother, nothing brings me greater joy than witnessing my daughters\u2019 love for one another.<\/span><\/p>\n

Each time they giggle in mutual delight at a game they\u2019ve invented, insist on \u201csister snuggles\u201d to begin the day or tenderly care for one another\u2019s \u201couchies,\u201d I feel as though they\u2019ve just given me an extravagant gift. No sooner have I declared that I <\/span>couldn\u2019t possibly<\/span><\/i> love them anymore than I already do, they demonstrate some new kindness to one another and I find myself doing just that. \u201cThanks be to God,\u201d I whisper to myself, \u201cthat my daughters are the very best of friends!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Except when they\u2019re not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like all siblings, they have their share of spats. They ferociously elbow each other as they vie for the prime spot on my lap during bedtime. My 2-year-old runs away with a bag of fresh cherries in an attempt to hoard them all for herself. My 4-year-old yells at her sister for singing the same song over and over again as we drive to the museum. <\/span><\/p>\n

I behold these actions with exasperation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Haven\u2019t we cuddled together enough times for them to know there is room on my lap for both of them? Can\u2019t my younger daughter see there are plenty of cherries in the bag for everyone if only she\u2019d stop clutching it to her chest? Has my older daughter already forgotten how she used to belt out \u201cLet It Go\u201d for the duration of every car ride?<\/span><\/p>\n

Their 4- and 2-year-old minds simply don\u2019t comprehend the big picture, and I wish I could just make them understand:<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo courtesy of Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You never have to compete for my love; when divided, it grows. You are family, which means you have a responsibility to one another, whether or not it\u2019s convenient. I have provided for you in abundance, but I expect you to share. While there is nothing, NOTHING you could do to make me love you less, there are infinite ways for us to love each other more deeply \u2026 And so very many of them involve how you treat each other. Be generous. Be patient. Be kind. Do these things and you will have given me a more precious gift than anything wrapped in a box. Do these things and I\u2019ll know you truly love me.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

From my perspective as a mother, it seems so straightforward: <\/span>Trust in my love for you, and show your love for me by loving one another.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And yet isn\u2019t this precisely what I myself fail to do on a daily basis? Isn\u2019t this the same failure that leads to school bullying and the Orlando massacre and nuclear proliferation? Isn\u2019t this what\u2019s wrong with the world?<\/span><\/p>\n

I can picture God—the eternally-patient chauffeur who drives Divine Providence ever forward (even as we kick and scream from the backseat), beholding our selfishness and fearfulness and foolishness (and all the needless misery that results)—sighing in exasperation as I do:\u00a0<\/span>I wish I could just make them understand<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

About the Rabble Rouser:<\/b><\/h5>\n

<\/b>Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>has been a friend of Sister Julia\u2019s since they were neighbors in Chicago several years ago. \u00a0Her columns\u00a0for\u00a0Messy Jesus Business\u00a0tend to focus on the intersection of faith and parenting, particularly as it relates to the radical call of Gospel living.<\/em><\/p>\n

She has, on occasion, turned the minivan around.<\/i><\/div>\n

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Love as I’ve loved you … OR I WILL TURN THIS MINIVAN AROUND!<\/a><\/blockquote>