to have these conversations, we have to be close to someone and not just geographically. we have a be vulnerable. we have to be open. we have to be awkward at times and push through the uncomfortable stillness. we have to put ourselves out there. we have to say things we haven't said to this person in front of us ever before. we have to open a new part of ourselves to them.
it's in these times and many others in life, that i find myself diving deeper into life. life with others. with those in my present. in my right now. it's immensely hard to step out, open up, and allow someone else into that crevice of me life but that's where He calls us. to live life with one another. to laugh together, to smile together, to cry together, to mourn together, to eat together, to pray together, to simply be together.
i've done a lot of these recently. since december, i've been to 3 funerals, sat speechless in a hospital room, celebrated milestones with friends, and nearly peed my pants [trousers, for you're irish] from laughter as my housemates joke in our kitchen. i rejoice in each meal i eat with someone sitting across from me who i didn't know a year ago and yet now, can't imagine my life without.
it's in these intense and sometimes extremely painful times that i find the dynamic of relationships so fascinating. when you sit on the verge of tears for someone who has lost the love of their life, even though you have only known them for 18 months. when you go out of your way at the drop of a hat to see someone, maybe for the last time. when it's hard because it's good. when we've investing our lives in others, it's beyond our emotions to see that end or even change.
i guess what it comes down to is love. since i was little, i've always taken note of the amount of songs on the radio dealing with love. whether it's heartbreak, heartache, or love at first sight, love is ingrained in the lyrics that shoot from the speakers. it's a topic we all experience. whether it's in a positive or negative way. love is at the heart of our lives. as cliche as that sounds, it's true. in the depths of our lives lies love.
so even though, love's wrecking me a bit right now as i look to say good bye to some, it also uplifts me as i'm about to say hello to others.
love is patient, love is kind. it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves. love never fails. 1 corinthians 13:4-8
dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. this is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. no one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. 1 john 4:7-12
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