Going above and beyond

Sometimes we do these things, don’t we? We go above and beyond what we know is sensible in a given situation, because we love the person who needs our help or our understanding and our hearts go out to them. Now some of us, I know, are more prone to this than others, including perhaps … ahem … doting grandmothers. But … well, you know … when a grandchild wants a cuddle …

Our two-year-old granddaughter can walk and run around easily. But something happens when we get home, after picking her up from day care. She often decides she wants is to be carried everywhere I go, all the while cuddling her head into my neck. So what can I possibly do but oblige, even when I have difficulties with my back? I could say no, but … well …

Last week, I admit I picked her up just a little too much, so am now paying for it. When our granddaughter is a bit older, she will understand I can’t carry her around or rock her to sleep as I stand beside her cot and sing to her. Her older brother is very helpful in this regard. But for now, because I love our Maxine, I find it hard to say no.

This whole scenario was acted out clearly for me in a very different context one evening last week as well, when I attended a wonderful performance of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, featuring Anthony Warlow. What a joy! I resonated so much with Tevye, the poor father in the story, who is faced with having to go against tradition as his daughters decide for themselves whom they will marry. In his oldest daughter’s case, out of love for her, he manages to devise a plan to convince his wife to forget about the arranged marriage with a wealthy, older man and instead let her wed the young tailor she loves so much. With his second daughter, despite deep reservations, Tevye is overwhelmed with love for her too and gives her his blessing, as she marries the radical young teacher from the Ukraine. But when his third daughter desires to marry a non-Jew, his love is sorely tested. Later, when she returns to receive her father’s blessing, Tevye’s heartbreak in withholding it is painful to watch. He loves his daughter—but this particular break with tradition and denial of his faith is just too much for him.

Perhaps this is why I particularly noticed the words of Psalm 145:8-9 as I came upon them again this week:

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

In The Passion translation, these verses are put this way:

You’re so kind and tenderhearted to those who don’t deserve it and so very patient with people who fail you. Your love is like a flooding river, overflowing its banks with kindness. God, everyone sees your goodness, for your tender love is blended into everything you do.

Somehow I think God’s boundless, extravagant love for us goes far above and beyond what anyone could ever expect—and then some. How blessed we are to be able to receive and enjoy it on a daily basis!

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