Cream Cheese

No this is not an advertisement for Philadelphia Cream Cheese in spite of the wonder food that it is. It is good on bagels. It is good in a salsa dip. It is good as a dollop in soup. Let us not forget the wonder of cheesecake be it plain, topped with strawberries or another fruit, chocolate or marble…it is the ultimate elegant dessert. It is cool and smooth and slides down easily with a sure sense of gourmet enjoyment.

What I am talking about here is the word Philadelphia. You know, the same as the famous Pennsylvania city…also known as the “City of Brotherly Love.” However, because this is a website for women perhaps we should discuss “Sisterly Love” instead.

What would cream cheese and sisterly love have in common? Well that is a stretch at best. It only came to my mind because of the name of the Philadelphia brand and the meaning of the word. And since we are women at the least we could call it “siblingly” love…to love as a sibling would whether that sibling be a male or a female. So let’s follow the idea of the blessings of cream cheese.

It is a smooth ingredient that enhances enjoyment of so many different foods. Just as love in our interactions helps the medicine go down so to speak. When we love we act differently and medicine is more palatable. Though it may be necessary the brunt of it is dulled by the creamy ingredient of love. 

The Bible gives a lovely description of love and what it could be in 1Corinthians 13…the love chapter.

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. 

Love never gives up. 
Love cares more for others than for self. 
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. 
Love doesn't strut, 
Doesn't have a swelled head, 
Doesn't force itself on others, 
Isn't always "me first," 
Doesn't fly off the handle, 
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, 
Doesn't revel when others grovel, 
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, 
Puts up with anything, 
Trusts God always, 
Always looks for the best, 
Never looks back, 
But keeps going to the end. 

8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. 
11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good. 
12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! 
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. (The Message)

So here we have it on sisterly love…Philadelphia… 

Love cares more for others than for self.
When a sister is in need share some cream cheese and jelly on a bagel…and some coming alongside
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. 
Your sister only needs what you are able to give
Love doesn't strut, 
Your sister needs a shoulder not someone who boasts about their own accomplishments.
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others
Again there is no need to hold yourself up as a role model when all she needs is a sympathetic ear. 
Isn't always "me first," 
A true practitioner of love will never try to put herself before her sister at a time of need.
Doesn't fly off the handle,
There will be no loss of patience no matter how unreasonable a needy sister is when she is going through a difficult time.
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, 
There will be no reminders to your sister of past failures.
Doesn't revel when others grovel,


Obvious!

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
As your love manifests to your hurting sister you will be glad when she sees the truth about her situation and starts to improve.
Puts up with anything, 
In coming alongside there may be annoyances but a true sister is willing to put up with any inconvenience
Trusts God always, 
Who else can we really, truly trust?
Always looks for the best, 
This is totally needed so that love can triumph
Never looks back, 
But keeps going to the end.
Once the course is set it is forward to the end.

Sisterly love is the cheese cake of relationships. It is the thing that enhances the interaction of our relationships with everyone but especially with other women. As we come alongside we should be the ingredient in the troubled heat of a hot salsa dip that blends and dims the fire of a problem time to something that is tasty and easily handled.

Written by Corinne Mustafa