Saturday, December 22, 2007

Love


To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to be sure of keeping your heart intact--you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries. Avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safely in the casket of your selfishness. And in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken. It will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The only place outside of heaven where you can be perfectly safe from the dangers of love is in hell.

....C.S. Lewis



For the past year our family has been involved in a pretty intense struggle with one family member (who shall remain nameless) that has truly been a test of faith. I have seen a Christian response from family members who rather than wear their faith on their t-shirts, have lived it. I have seen patience beyond what I thought was possible. I have watched as my little sister LIVES her faith in a way that is inspiring. I have been humbled by the love that has poured out from my mother. I have won battles with my own selfish pride and then lost a few in my desire to do it my way. And in the end, we continue to wait for a resolution. We wait on God's timing...we wait for some kind of miracle...we wait for a happy ending....full in the knowledge that it may never come. But most importantly, we keep on loving, because that is what we are called to do.

2 comments:

it wasn't me said...

I love you more each day Maureen...my sister, my friend.

Nancy Winningham said...

We don't understand - but everything in God's timing. Not ours. Only HE can change hearts; we cannot. Through loving as Christ did, their hearts may not be changed, but ours will.