The love is already there

I am always drawn to faces -- our house is filled with masks -- so when I spotted this one in a garden shop, I immediately grabbed my camera.

What I like about it is the directness of the gaze: I see neither condemnation nor adulation, but simply... acceptance.  Mercy. A spark of humor. And maybe a little expectation, as well.  Which makes me think about my readings this morning.

First, of today's prayer from Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent: "Good God, keep me forever inside of your abundant and generous flow of mercy, toward me, through me, in me and from me."

And then, of these words from Made for Goodness:

"I know that the space is very small between "I am doing it in response to love" and "I am doing it to be loved."  But in that space resides the difference between joy-filled peace and anxious despair.  ... When we slide across the threshold from living our goodness to "doing good" in order to "be good," we work in the mistaken conviction that what we are doing will enable us to merit God's love or that it will, perhaps, increase God's love for us.  But God already loves us perfectly.  There is no task we must complete to earn God's love.  God already loves us perfectly, God cannot love us one iota more."

I was pretty cranky yesterday -- mostly due to lack of sleep -- and yet, for my book group, I had to read a chapter about joy and curiosity.  And all I could think was how far from joy I felt.  This morning, with a record nine hours of sleep under my belt, I can see I'm in a much better place: better able to feel and remember joy,  and better positioned to ask myself: how much of what do I do is in response to love, and how much is in order to be loved?  I am thankful I can say that meditation and blogging are pure response -- which must be why I love them so much.  Photography is a response as well -- and equally satisfying. 

But there are other things, the things that sometimes have a way of overwhelming me, that may not have such pure motives. Perhaps we should all be more conscientious about asking that question:  Am I doing this in response to love, or to gain love?  Because Desmond Tutu is right -- we just forget: the love is already there.