Hungry for Love

I was having dinner with my dad and some friends the other night when he mentioned something that made me stop and think. As he told my new friends a little bit about my mom, he shared about our bookstore and the ministry that came of it.

"Cheryl always said that when people came in and wandered around for a little while, and then came up to the counter and said, 'I don't know why I'm here,' that she was to encourage and pray with them."

I want to be careful not to make the woman who birthed me into some kind of saint on this blog, but she was a mighty fine lady. She was also onto something.

People are hungry for something and they don't even know what.


But we do.

It's called love. Sometimes people just need to be loved.
Even mean people.
Even cold people.
Even difficult people.
Even people who have abandoned the faith.
Even people who have hurt us deeply in the past.
Even people who are absent--those who have checked out of life as they knew it.

It's true that some people need a swift kick in the rear as well--that is also loving when appropriate.

They wander in and out of our lives just like they wandered in and out of our store.

Do you see their hunger? Do you even notice them?


Maybe it's a coworker that's always hanging out at the water cooler with sad looking eyes. Maybe it's your daughter's friend Aubrey who is ALWAYS over at your house and requires much more patience than you have to offer at times. Maybe it's a family member who is always critical to you and everyone else but keeps coming over to visit.


Do we see them? Do we hear their unvoiced cries for help? Do we have the courage to passionately share His truth with them in love? Or do we ignore them in order to maintain our pristine image and perfect social life and some sense of our sanity?

We have a divine responsibility to take the time and spare willingly the energy required to truly love people who float in and out of our lives. (Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we should enable people or allow them to abuse our bodies, minds, or spirits.) Everyone so desperately needs love.




Maybe it's you, dear reader. Maybe you're the one who stumbled upon this blog and you don't even know why you are reading or following this blog. Can I know your name and your story? It would be my honor to pray with you and to encourage you along this sometimes bumpy road called life? If you're not sure why you are here, please email me at lauren.thatgirl@gmail.com and tell me about you. It would be my honor to listen.


If you know of someone who has wandered into your life, I dare you to show them the love of Christ and see what happens. If that's the case, I encourage you to leave a comment with a prayer over the first name of the person in your life who needs the most love.