A letter to my children:
Let your life be marked by love.
Be patient.
Be kind.
Be quick to forgive and quick to listen.
Be slow to speak and slow to anger.
Believe the best.
I know it’s not easy.
I wish I could protect your heart forever. But as you go out into the world, and you choose to love people, I can’t tell you that it won’t hurt. I can’t tell you that you’ll be able to fix everything, or save everyone. I can’t tell you that it will all work out, or that if you mess up, you’ll always be able to mend it. I can’t tell you that your love will be returned.
Sometimes, people will refuse to love you back;
sometimes, they won’t know how to.
Sometimes, someone will show you a love
that molds you, and shapes you, and changes you forever,
and you’ll still have to learn how to say goodbye.
Sometimes, you will get it wrong.
And sometimes, you will get it right—
you will do everything you know to do,
and you’ll still watch them slowly slip away.
I can’t tell you it won’t hurt, baby.
But I can encourage you to love anyways. I can tell you that, in my experience, the future heartache of losing someone is always worth the time you got to love them.
So, even when it hurts, remember the way Jesus loves you:
He does not hold back His love until you return it.
He does not reserve His compassion until He knows you won’t walk away.
He does not keep you at arms length to avoid the pain of rejection.
And when His love is poured into your heart, you have to love the same way He does. Especially if you want to see chains broken and people set free. Especially if the cry of your heart is: “On earth as it is in Heaven.”
I can’t tell you it won’t hurt,
but if you want to show the love of Christ to a broken world—
Love with no expectations.
Love with no guarantees.
Let your heart soar.
Let your heart break.
Let your life be marked by love.
I’ll go first.
Love, Mommy
“Love endures with patience & serenity, love is kind & thoughtful, & is not jealous or envious; love does not brag & is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive & easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right & truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Love never fails [it never fades nor ends].”
— 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Grace Waves 