TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2023 - SHUVA

 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2023 - SHUVA

I’m working on something.  I’m not quite ready to talk about it yet.  But, in my research, I found SHUVA.  Huh?  SHUVA?  

SHUVA is an acronym - for:

SEE 

HEAR 

UNDERSTAND 

VALUE

APPRECIATE

I write about relationships - mainly under the “LOVE WINS” philosophy.  I can see SHUVA as working with LOVE WINS.

Scenario:

I have a neighbor - what is a friend, but I really haven’t gone very deep with her.  I see you here when I come home from work.  She is on her porch smoking.  I stop, say hello, talk briefly, and then go to my apartment.

I sense that I really don’t engage her as a trustworthy neighbor, as the friend she could be.  I also feel that she is a little cool towards me.  I “scare” her.

HUH? I scare her?  I have a Ph.D. - she never went to college.  I have been a professor, and she has worked at menial jobs until her heart attack a few years back.  I have a car, and she doesn’t.  I don’t smoke. I have many friends - and she (because she doesn’t drive and has health issues) doesn’t have many friends. She has been reluctant to go out to lunch with me. 

So, how do I become a better neighbor?  

I’ve written, “How do you spell Love? T  I  M  E”.  Unless I spend more time with her, she will remain a neighbor, an acquaintance, and not develop interaction between us.  

I have to work on the UVA of SHUVA.  I see her, I hear her (kind of anyway).  But I don’t know her enough to really “understand” her.  How about “do I value her?”.  I do - but it is a low value.  If one of us moved away, we’d probably email periodically - but not frequently.  I need to convince her (and myself) that we are of value to each other.

How about “appreciate” her?  I know she went through two divorces.  I don’t know those stories.  Would it help if I opened up to her - and got to know her better?

She likes to watch late-night television.  Maybe I need to invite myself to her apartment to watch “The Twilight Zone” with her. (I think this is her favorite show).

This week before Halloween, I will put some decorations on her porch.  (Nothing too much, homemade 

This morning, I’m also making some “White Chicken Chili” in my crockpot. I definitely will take her some of that.  

*****

SHUVA - See, Hear, Understand, Value, and Appreciate.

Some of my readers know me more than others.  How do I value and appreciate you?  Especially those of you I rarely see and hear?  How do I tell you that I do value you?  

I can cop out and say, “Oh yes, love wins.” 

Maybe James 2:16-17 can help me:

“ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”

It is only fake love - unless I put some actions with it.  

*****

Sometimes, we need more robust methods to SHUVA - See, Hear, Understand, Value, and Appreciate.  Maybe we give money to a person - “See, I value you enough to give you some money.  I can’t (or don’t want to give you T I M E - which is my spelling of LOVE) - so let this money act as if I value and appreciate you.” 

*****

Do we SHUVA our spouses enough, our children and families?  

Do we value others - or is it just idle talk?  I know I “talk the talk,” but I’m not so good when it is time to “walk the walk.”  

******

I don’t know Greek - but the concluding verses in the Gospel of John have Jesus saying, “Peter, do you LOVE me,” and Peter answers, “Yes, Lord, I like you”.

A second time, Jesus asks, “Peter, do you LOVE me,” and again, Peter says, “Yes, Lord, I like you.”

And a third time,  “Peter, do you LOVE me,” and again Peter says, “Yes, Lord, I like you.”

See, Hear, Understand, Value, and Appreciate - to do that well requires LOVE and T I M E. Are you will commit to that?  (Am I willing to commit to that?)

If you and I are willing to commit, I think we’ll find that 

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, OCTOBER 24, 2023