Love, what if?

Love.
What if love isn't pretty
it isn't roses

What if love isn't sweet

it isn't soft

and it isn't meant
to be about
what we think or
what we wish
and what we pray for

It's messy
and ugly
and wandering
and lost.
It's rainy
and windy
and covering
the ground.
It's up
and it's down
and it
rarely is still.
It's more than my imagination
can begin to dream
It's more than my heart
can bear to feel

The man on the cross...
He loved
and we claim to be about
the love that he was
but
we aren't.
we judge and we fret
and we look away
we run when it's hard
and we hide our own pain

we ignore more than we listen
we avoid more than we face
I wonder if pretty and sweet
would make us feel
more willing and able
to be about the love
that he so freely gave

what if we set down
our own agenda
and instead looked
out
around
in
and embraced all the
good things
there are in our sight.

people
with stories
not like our own
and places
that seem strange
and far from home
but those
people and places
are where we must start
extending ourselves
as we begin to love.

when your soul begins to feel
and your tears are mixed
with heartache and joy
you are loving

and when you feel the warmth

of tenderness

even through your pain

you are being loved

and it may not be
what you thought
because you aren't in control
and you don't get to choose

It's messy

and ugly

but also lovely and kind.

It's rainy

and windy

but will also blow your mind.

Love.