June 7

When I was growing up, our church would place a rosebud at the front of the sanctuary to celebrate the birth of a new baby. Although I hadn't thought about the practice in years, that memory came to mind when I spied this pure white rose and a host of buds in my yard this evening.

New life. Thankfully it's something we can all have through Jesus, but even though I have confidence in my salvation, I'd be lying if I said my heart isn't deeply troubled right now. I've hashed and rehashed this current reality in my mind over and over again over the course of the past week, and it all comes down to this simple truth: we are called to love each other, regardless of race or religion or creed or shape or size or age or ability or political philosophy. Society is broken because we so often fail to love.

Love is engaging in conversation and not tuning out when it gets hard or uncomfortable. Love is accepting that we are not always right. Love is resisting the urge to attack someone publicly no matter how much you think they deserve it, because we all --every single one of us, even the lowest of the low-- are worthy of grace. (And when you trash someone, you're spreading seeds of hate. Think about that.) Love is learning to be sensitive and avoiding judgment because personal histories are powerful and no two are exactly alike. Love is seeking truth and adapting our thoughts and attitudes and behaviors when we find it. Love is thinking and reflecting and then, when led, doing something. Love is realizing that we are all unique creations who are known intimately, valued immensely, and loved deeply by the God who created us.

I suppose it might be easy to dismiss my words because I'm just some white chick who lives in an affluent town, but please don't because I'm no stranger to deep, life-altering suffering. Contact me and we can chat. I'll tell you the grittier, uglier details of my life story to date because vulnerability may be hard, but it can also lead to healing.

I see and hear and empathize in ways you can't imagine but I have to do better. A lot of us probably could. Because in the end, love is what gives us the only kind of life that truly fulfills us and meets our needs. It is the only thing that will cure what ails our society. And no matter how painful or how trying a path we've had to travel, Love offers us all New Life. And that's no small gift.