Are any of you frightened when it comes to loving someone? Maybe you’ve tried it and it ended in an ugly divorce, the consequences of which still linger. Maybe you’re someone who has lost far too many people who were special in your life. You’re just plain numb and what isn’t numb is raw to the core.
Love is risky, isn’t it? Having feelings for someone makes you vulnerable. What if they change their minds and walk away? What if they get sick and die? What if??? Opening up your heart can be tough. Reaching deep down inside and sharing embarrassing moments, failures or fears…It’s baring the soul, being essentially naked before another person. That takes courage and confidence in the recipient.
I have a precious granddaughter who was born with half a heart. I honestly think she has more heart than the rest of us. There is not a soul in the world who doesn’t immediately fall in love with this little girl the minute they meet her. With all she has endured in her short life, she is braver than all of us. God brought her into our lives through adoption by my son and his wife.
In January of 2017, I made the following note:
“When we open ourselves up to love, we open ourselves to both joy and sorrow. Would we NOT do that? Would we avoid the sorrow and then also miss the joy?”
Those thoughts came to me the night before this adorable 2 1/2 year old child was going to have her fourth major heart surgery.
Allowing yourself to love IS a risky business, no doubt about it. But, what’s the saying? “It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
Loving may not always involve a spouse or child or other relative. I had a dear friend I loved like a sister but in 2006 she died at 56 years of age. I was absolutely devastated. But, would I have missed out on the years of closeness and good times just to avoid the pain of loss? No way!
Love is not always a commitment in the form of “I do”. Sometimes love is showing someone you care, being there for them when they need someone. Love comes in many forms. Why miss out?
“…but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
LOVE is what motivates us to flourish; God’s reflection in His children. I’m challenged. Thanks Teri!!
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall never perish but have eternal life. Let us love….
God’s love and grace ensure that the joy is so much more than the pain could ever be.
Even after the pain of loss the residue of love brings joy in sweet memories.
Loving involves trust. Loving people can hurt you. Loving things can disappoint you. Loving God – take a chance, He wil never let you down.