TEMPERED SOUL

“What’s your e-mail address,” I asked Autumn. temperedsoul @ aol.com. Why do you use tempered soul?” She replied, “I’m temperamental.” I smiled to the point of laughter, “You Autumn?”

My wife started mentoring Autumn when she was a sixth grader. Eight years later, married with a child; we remain close even though she lives hundreds of miles away.

I know few people who are more emotionally expressive than Autumn. I remember explosive anger when she couldn’t be consoled. During those times my wife and I learned to ride the wave to calmer water.

Then there were the still-feel-like-crying moments when Autumn would be gentle as she beautifully expressed her heart. I will never forget the time she said to me, “I’m closer to you than my own dad.”

She initiated keep-us-connected phone calls. Autumn might rant a little and then the smile in her voice would break through. No matter where her tempered soul drifted our conversation, she ended with: “I love you”

Love is a big word.

The Apostle Paul breathes life into the word “love” in 1 Corinthians 13. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves. Love never fails.”

The Apostle Paul’s love description is a load to pull off. Where can a person even begin?

While the core of really knowing love is knowing God; are there many human actions more meaningful than the verbal expression of love? The Bible says, “From the heart the mouth speaks.”

Now I end my phone conversations with my favorite tempered soul by saying: “I love you Autumn.”