Today my son was having a huge meltdown. For no apparent reason. It was partly amusing and partly just astonishing that he was capable of such a display. But it made me want to retreat into my bedroom, close the door and curl up in my bed to avoid it all. Then this quote came to mind. Remember that people are the least lovable when they need love the most. He clearly needed something. What, I’m not exactly sure, but some love and focused attention never hurts. So instead of escaping…which I confess is my default far too often…I asked him to go for a bike ride. Just him and me. I let him lead and I followed along where he wanted to go. It ended up being the best part of my day and he loved our little adventure.

Sometimes people who are the hardest to love, need it the most. It’s true, not just in parenting but in any relationship. A spouse, a student we teach, a coworker, the cashier at the grocery store. We encounter people every day that just need a little more love in their lives.  Sometimes we are those people. And most of the time we have no idea what is going on in someone’s life, how they are hurting or what they are struggling with. This was a good reminder for me today to make the choice to love. A choice I need to make more often.