Maybe I'm wrong.
If I let my cynicism take over, there are days like today. When I think, who need this?
Maybe I'm stupid. Maybe Love Stinks.
Seriously, what am I doing, here? What am I waiting for?
Sometimes, it's really easy to get frustrated. I look at my life, and I don't see the things happening that I want to be happening. And yes, I know it's all in God's timing.
But some days I want to give it all up, lock my heart away. It's frustrating to care about someone who does not feel the same way. And it doesn't get easier. This just doesn't seem to be something I can fix or make better on my own. I don't know.
I've been working on a story for a few years now, and the main character, Anna, is in love with a guy for about seven years, the duration of the book. Obviously, I'm not going to tell you what happens, but the point is, I didn't give it a second thought when I put her through that. I just assumed she could handle that kind of emotional torment and anguish. Probably because I assumed I could. And so for years, she tries to reconcile the fact that she cares deeply for a guy who for the most part is unable to love her back.
Is it just me, or is that depressing?
Anna is brave, I'll give her that. I'm not sure I would really be able to do the same in her place. I'd like to think I could...but then there are days like today. When I wonder why I would do that to myself. Wouldn't it make more sense to spare my heart, if I could?
God has given us all sorts of counsel and direction in his written Word; thank God, we have it written down in black and white. ... The more that wisdom enters our hearts, the more we will be able to trust our hearts in difficult situations. Notice that wisdom is not cramming our head with principles. It is developing a discerning heart. What made Solomon such a sharp guy was his wise and discerning heart (1 Kings 3:9).
We don’t seek wisdom because it’s a good idea; we seek wisdom because we’re dead if we don’t.
Wisdom is crucial. But wisdom is not enough. Wisdom is essential . . . and insufficient. ...
It was dangerous advice, indeed, to send the young maiden before her king unbidden, and even worse to send a boy against a trained mercenary. And frankly, it looked like perfect madness for Jesus to give himself up to the authorities, let himself get killed....The Bible is full of such counterintuitive direction from God. (John Eldredge, Waking the Dead, pp 99-100.)
I'm trying to figure out what God wants from me in this situation. It always seems like, at the end of the day, His words to me are, "Don't give up." Don't close off your heart. Don't become a cynic. Don't feel stupid for loving. Well, today, Love does feel stupid. And quite frankly, I'm not even sure if Love is the right word for anything that I"m feeling. What do I know about Love, after all? What do I know about relationships? What do I know about truly caring about someone other than myself?
Nothing. So, apparently, I've got a lot to learn.
"Once upon a blog...."
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1 comment:
oh, jess. what could i say to make you feel better? love doesn't stink, un-love stinks (otherwise known as apathy). i've been going through some of the same days as you for awhile. well, not the unrequited love part, because there's no one right now that i'm crushing on. but in a way, the same. my husband's out there somewhere, and i love him, and i wish so badly that he could know that. and maybe it would bring him here quicker. but it won't, so i let it go. but that's easy for me to do because. it's in my character to let go of people.
anyway, i know that you know what love is. you are so good at loving others. and yes, it's always in a platonic way. but there are a lot of people in our world that don't even know how to love like that.
i guess i should say, just remember that "hope doesn't disappoint."
from one cynic to another. :)
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