LOVE

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

I’m surrounded by familiar faces, people who have blessed me for years—plus a few more. I attempt to put on a brave face when Lisa hands me an envelope, but the truth is I’m broken—the fragile dam that holds back my tears is weak. I am weak, and it all begins to make sense, this brokenness I carry around in this heart of mine filled with scars formed by the simple act of loving.

I watch my dear friend Lisa suffer. We’ve gathered to celebrate her birthday—my granddaughter in my arms—her daughter Sierra and grandchildren in heaven. We sing the familiar tune of “Happy Birthday.” Deep inside we are many things, but happy is not one of them.

Our brokenness is not foreign to God. He too grieved the loss of His children to sin, sending His own Son Jesus Christ into the world to be broken for us. Love and pain must coexist for love to exist at all, for it is in the giving of ourselves we are broken. Love breaks us and makes us vulnerable, elevating us to the highest mountaintop or plunging us into the deepest sea. Even knowing the cost, I wouldn’t trade love, the greatest gift of all, for anything.

Among the pictures in the envelope is a smiling picture of Sierra and me. Just as surely as I know one day I will see God, I will again see my sweet Sierra and those who have gone before me. Until then, I will love more abundantly those God has entrusted to me. I hope you will too.

Thank You God for the gift of love.

© 2020 Amy A. Verzi