She is darling! A former ballerina dancing in the Nutcracker and all grown up now, venturing out and into adult life. First love, real love captured her heart last year and the daisy-picking “He loves me. He loves me not” finally ended with “He loves me not” a couple weeks ago.
But tomorrow is Valentine’s Day! Where is Cupid when you want him?
Instead of dinner and gift, she will be spending the evening with seven other 20-something darlings and two 50-something Bible study leaders leaning further in to the Lover of our souls.
Are we losers or winners?
How do we persevere in love when we’ve just given up?
Sometimes love gives up to persevere. Sometimes we just have to let go of the have-to-haves in order to persevere to the place of receiving the I-never-thought-this-could-ever-happen-to-me wonder.
And sometimes the gift received is far different from the gift we imagined. Sometimes the letting go, the hard process of peeling back fingers from fists clenched tight, is the very thing that readies us for the best gift waiting for an empty open hand. Sometimes we must grow before we can receive.
She grew in confidence and in knowing what she wants. She grew in speaking honest words that still love in loss. She grew in trust that the Lover of her soul will lead her to the love of her life when the time is right. And there is peace.
And I was gifted with watching her in process for a year—slowly unfolding, listening to the hard, consoling through the ache, seeing a rosebud open full, blooming.
Her soul work this past year has stretched her beyond where she thought she could go.
Sometimes we must spend time stretching the legs before we can stand on our toes.
Sometimes open hands with fingers stretched up are the most beautifully positioned to worship and receive.
