The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“[Love] believes all things, hopes all things.”

—1 Corinthians 13:7

What does it actually mean to believe and hope all things in love?

It means giving others the benefit of the doubt, trusting that their intentions toward us are good, taking their words at face value instead of trying to assume motives, and not living in suspicion because of our own insecurities.

When we think of those we love, we can imagine all the terrible things they might think of us or all the ways they might hurt us, but living in those thoughts will create a barrier of fear, lived by us and felt by them.

Or we can imagine that those people truly love us, want our good, and do their best to bring it about. We can realize that they probably also have areas where they struggle to restrain doubts and assumptions about our motives, feelings, and actions. By believing in those people, we will give them the courage to believe in us.

This doesn’t mean we pretend hurts don’t exist when they appear. When harm is done, we lovingly address it. We set boundaries and expectations.

But we don’t create or imagine division out of nothing.

And this applies to all the relationships in our lives—family, friendship, professional, or romantic.

We will still be hurt sometimes, but that will happen whether we live in cynical expectation of it or not. And the cynical expectation not only hurts us; it creates an environment that fosters hurt in the other person as well.

When we choose to believe and hope, we renew both our relationships and our own hearts.

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