Love Extraordinaire
I don’t know
how God’s heart
stands it –
how it doesn’t
just break
into a million pieces.
I really don’t.
His words to us
full of counsel,
full of wisdom,
full of Fatherly knowing.
His ways so
full of contentment,
full of love,
full of peace,
full of life and life abundant,
full of all we are looking for,
full of all we are striving for,
full of all we will ever need.
His rescue of us so
full of pain,
full of sacrifice,
full of I love you so much.
And yet,
how often
humanity turns our back,
how often
we turn a deaf ear.
How often
we shake our head
back and forth
in a gesture of “no”
instead of
tilting our head,
leaning in,
and listening to
His still small voice.
Free will.
Love extraordinaire.
A love that
doesn’t control,
but lets us choose,
because after all
anything else
wouldn’t truly be love.
Love is a choice.
And it’s the
the choosing
to not choose
His love,
to not choose
His ways,
that must
break His heart.
When He knows
how our choices
are hurting us,
when He sees
how our pride
and our “my way”
attitude are only
leading us astray,
taking us away from Him,
blinding us
to truth.
The more I become
like my Heavenly Father,
the more I feel
this hurt
in my own heart.
To share,
to tell,
to counsel,
to try to help –
and then
to see the
ones I love most,
choosing differently.
It breaks
my heart wide open.
Controlling others
would be so much easier,
but control
isn’t the way of love,
isn’t the way of God.
To stand back
and let others
choose,
so. incredibly. hard.
How does
God stand it?
He chooses
to stand in the gap
while He stands back.
He chooses to
intercede on our behalf
while He concedes
control of our lives.
Sometimes
the hardest part
of loving well
isn’t in holding on tight,
but in letting go.
How can
we stand it?
By following
the example
of our Heavenly Father.
This, too, is love.
Love extraordinaire.~
~Stacy
