Have you ever looked out the window of the airplane as its coming in for a landing and been amazed at how differently things appear from up in the sky?  That’s because everything looks different from a bird’s point of view.

I’ve thought about that many times when someone frustrates me or when something happens that could easily cause me to take offense, asking myself “If I were a bird looking down at this would I see something different?” The answer is always the same – “Most likely, yes.”

People can be annoying, offensive, or rude. And that can make them seem really hard to love. But the truth is that if we had that bird’s eye view we would most certainly see things that would cause our hearts to soften toward them.

How do you come to love someone who drives you crazy to be around?  Well C.S. Lewis, one of my favorite authors, gave the best advice about that:

“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”

Act as if you love them and eventually you will. It’s that simple.

Have an amazing day.

~Amy Rees Anderson