Again, Love.

"Love from the center of who you are..."

This phrase from a Message translation of Romans 12 has literally been stuck in my brain. So I composed this little diddy to talk about what love has looked like for me and what I want my love to look like in turn.

I want it to leap out at people. Grab them by the shoulders, take them by the hand. Walk with and run for. Carry. Be carried.

Resonate, resemble, rework. Undo death and create life. Fight with knowing silences and open arms.

Creatively calling. Patiently responding. Faithfully working all things for the better, the best things.

It must be tough, strong. Able to withstand crippling pain and wracking grief. Sit still and let the tears do the talking with the language we can't possibly pull into syllables.

Taking into itself so many different people. Encasing them in a shroud of blameless acceptance. Seeing people not just for who they are but what they will inevitably become.

I have seen love travel the globe bring home a beautiful baby boy. I have seen it sitting in waiting rooms and entering so bravely into the most repulsive situations without a second thought. I have seen it take hands and hold the broken as close as possible. Transcending physical limitations to grab firmly onto the heart and soul of a person. I have seen it pack up and move to another state but still remain as close as a walk up to those Church Street apartments. I have seen it in her anger for injustice, tears streaming down her face as she helped me to mourn the things lost. Faces that should have shifted with repulsion, but instead molded into honest compassion and grace. I have seen love.

I have felt it profoundly and without hesitation for her, for him. Speaking life, combatting death. I would say it a thousand times so you don't forget it. You are worthy because you can't be anything else. They can break your hearts but I have a piece tucked safely away so it wont be harmed. Besides, I have plenty of room in mine to hold both of us. It isn't cheesy or ill conceived. It is truth. I have felt love.

Love that fills me up, that causes me to rise up against the contradictions. That centers and defines me. This love that I talk about so much. And you might wonder why. I could post about theological undertakings, literary analysis and endless commentary on the state of things. I could probably impress you, woo you. Make myself feel important, make you think I am a never-ending well of esoteric insights...

But if I have not love...