Never Fails

Throughout life I have learned that love in its most perfect form has no room for fear and is the source of faith and hope. It is patient, kind, forgiving, looks for the best in the others, always hopes, always perseveres, always trusts, Most of all, love never fails.

I believe this. While love can be felt as an emotion, it is a choice. Sometimes it is easy to love someone. Other times it seems impossible to love because of the lack of redeeming qualities. That is, where the beauty of love shines through. True love, the way it should be, is not about what a person can do to be loveable. It doesn’t matter. Love is patient enough, sees the best when no one else can, and waits for the best to make its way to the surface. It sees the heart, accepts the present condition, flaws and all, and chooses to love. How hard is it to love someone who is lovely? But the one who can love another, whom the world has turned its back on; there you will find the pure love.

I know a woman who has worked with troubled teenage girls for many years. After dealing with them and their troubles for many years and watch them fall, time and time again. For many, this woman has been the only person in their lives who has loved them for who they are, no matter the mistake, without expecting anything in return. The girl could have spit in this woman’s face, said the most hateful thing, and yet, in return, the girl would receive love. Maybe not in the way we would all expect though. You see, while this woman never let go to that glimmer of beauty and hope in that girl, she often had to resort to a strong force of love. In the form of a direct, seemingly abrasive manner of confronting issues of the heart, taking the time to teach a better way to handle emotions, difficult circumstances and hurt. How to expect more out of life, love and yourself. These were all lessons the woman taught through her life, by example. The kids have all come to realize that no matter how far or hard they fall, when they think no one else believes in them, this remarkable woman does, always will.
Her secret. Remembering to have humility. She is no one to judge someone else, not in any way. She has fallen enough times herself, failed miserably, suffered through life’s injustices like any other. She says we all have hurt; we all have capacity for good or bad. ‘I choose love; it is the only thing that can carry us through a broken heart, poverty, and the evils that life throws while we’re down’. Children often understand and recognize first. An individual who cares for more than them self, unafraid of the judgments of others.

The Importance of Words

Too hard to say I love you.
So I'm feeling like an old woman
reminiscing on her life,
looking back on what should have
even what could have been.
Thinking about what was missing
who was important
and all that was not
Reflection complete with hind-sight.
She is left not with regret
as much as sadness
A great rush of feelings floods her memories
Wishing not upon a star but on something much more
Drawing from an abyss of hurt and anger, she ponders
Although knowing she was never unloved, rarely felt anything
but just that. A terrible word that no one should know
the meaning of--unloved.
If only for the lack of saying so...