Do you remember the Tina Turner song, “What's Love Got to Do with It”? A line in the song asks, "Who needs a heart, when a heart can be broken?” When we are disconnected from the one we love, there is pain, a broken heart. Is it worth it to love? As I think about the pain of loss, there is a considerable price that comes when we dare to love. We are never guaranteed another day with those who encircle our world. That realization hit me hard on July 2nd when I lost my seventeen-year-old daughter. Never in all my life did I think she would die before me. Even though I knew it was a possibility, it was a thought I would quickly get rid of. It was painful just thinking about it.
How do we live life without opening our hearts to love? What is in a relationship when we push our hearts and emotions aside to protect our hearts from pain? Life would be empty and lonely. It would make life not worth living. I think of Jesus when He decided to be born to take on the role of being a human being. He was God, so He must have known the repercussions of agape love. He knew people would turn from Him. He knew what was ahead of Him and His suffering on the cross. Yet, He decided we would be worth all of it. The beatings, the nail scarred hands, the pierced heart, and He still said, “Send Me.”
My dear Mom, our hearts are broken, never to be whole here on this earth. But oh, how my life has become more precious to me walking through life with a broken heart. My capacity to love and hurt for others has grown and has changed the very beating of my heart. Life’s seasons have become much more meaningful, even in their bruised and battered condition. I hold onto each day. Those whom I love and with whom I come in contact, I try my hardest to show Christ’s love. I am not perfect, but I give it my best shot.
Lord, You have given us the freedom to choose to love, or not. May we choose to love.
– Michele
