Here’s the deal. Five Minute Friday. You go find the little prompt at the wonderful Lisa-Jo’s blog, set the time and write for five minutes, and then just stop. Where you are, no edits, just publish raw words.

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I sat with this one for a while. After. After what? After this summer? After graduation?

What about a small after…what about simply, after I clean my room, after I go to dinner, after I finish my to-do list for the day?

But I landed with this: What do I want to be known for, after?

Not necessarily when I die, but when I walk away from a place, a conversation, a gathering.

We women, we judge and talk and stereotype way too quickly. When a conversation ends, what do I leave the person with?

What’s the after of me?

I want to be known for one thing, besides pointing to Jesus. If there’s any verse in the bible that I want to be attached with my name, I want it to be Philippians 1:9.

So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well.

After it’s all said and done, I want to love much and love well.

I want to pursue those around me and love them hard: ask – and truly care – about what’s going on in their lives.

I want to do a good job at loving them. I don’t want to be consumed with the little things that get caught in the in-between, I want to love them well. Whatever that space means for them. Do they love cupcakes? I’ll surprise them with one. A nice letter would mean more? That’s what I’ll do. Do they just need someone to sit with and talk to as they fold their laundry? I can do that.

Loving them well might mean knowing how they receive love.

When the conversation ends and we walk away to our own Next Thing, I want my ‘after’ to be one of love.

We leave people with an after-thought, an after-taste. I want mine to be Love.