I've been thinking a lot about Tri Delta's open motto lately, "Let us steadfastly love one another."
In it's brevity and simplicity, it can be easy to read this and just keep on keeping on without the words really sinking in or effecting you at all.
But, look at it again and really think about what our open motto is trying to say.
"Let us steadfastly love one another."
I started rolling this around in my mind when I realized I didn't really have a solid understanding of what the word "steadfastly" means. "What would that actually look like?" I wondered. "What would the implications be in my life if I were to actually love someone or a group of people 'steadfastly'?" I have a pretty good grasp of the implications of what the word "love" means... "Love is patient, love is kind." (I'm paraphrasing but,) It does not envy, boast, brag, or disrespect others. It's not self-seeking or easily angered. It keeps no records of wrongs. It always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres... that whole thing (1 Cor.13:4-8).
But steadfastly doing this? Hmmm... not so sure I know what that means or how to do that.
So, I turned to one of my favorite resources --- the dictionary. It's such a wonderful, ripe tool, ready to be peeled open and gobbled up in all it's juicy, knowledgey goodiness.
My preliminary online search returned:
"steadfastly - with resolute determination; 'we firmly believed it'; 'you must stand firm'" and provided synonyms such as "firm, firmly, and unwaveringly."
That's pretty good right? Probably something along the lines of what you were already thinking.
But, then I really honed in on the words, "with resolute determination," the "[standing] firm" part and the concept of being unwavering. These are big words if we actually try to live them out.
Have I developed the discipline to love anything or anyone truly unwaveringly? Or have I more often allowed my own wants, needs, whims and desires to dictate how much I am going to love and/or not love anyone at any given moment or time?
It's not an easy question to ask exactly but by making this our open motto it would seem that the founders of Tri Delta might have intended for this to be something we lent a certain amount of intentional thought to.
After reading this definition, I also couldn't help but think that, if you have to do something "with resolute determination" or if it requires that you "stand firm" that must mean that you're going to be faced with some kind of opposition, adversity or challenge. After all, you don't have to "stand firm" when nothing's shaking you up. You don't need to be resolute in your determination to do something unless there's some kind of force (person, situation or circumstance) that's threatening to keep you from remaining loyal to your goal.
It seems obvious to me how this concept relates to loving other women.
There will always be potential for opposition, adversity, disention and challenges amongst any group of people that come together to try to live and share their lives together. The fact that the standards for what that looks like within the sisterhood of Tri Delta are so high, if anything, increases the odds that challenges will arise that could jeopardize our determination to truly, "steadfastly love one another." The only way we could possibly ever do this is if we remember, and remember often that, what we're really trying to do and how we're supposed to do it is quite a radical way of attempting to interact with other people.
I love the amazing standards Tri Delta established for it's members. I also love breaking them down to figure out what and how we're actually supposed to look as members.
I hope you enjoyed this little essay on the deeper meaning of the word "steadfastly." And I also hope it reinvigorates you to "stand firm" and stay resolute in your determination to steadfastly love your sisters and any other women in your life today. I know it challenged me to adopt a higher personal standard for myself.
XOXO,
Rachel
