Shine!

I know that, no matter what... no matter who you are... no matter how hard you have tried to hide it... there has been a moment where you have felt like you were on the outside.

It breaks my heart to see people feel that way, because no one should have to feel left out or alone. The other day I met a guy while I was at work and his response to what I was telling him struck me.

He was one of the "types" that people would say would "never amount to anything", that would "never care about the meaningful things" and certainly not the type that anyone would willingly approach expecting a response welcoming conversation.

Yet he stared attentively as I told him about the thousands of people in Sierra Leone that needed aid. And as I told him about the weight of the situation, I saw his eyes begin to water. 

"That's terrible... I really wish I could do something..."

Then he assured me he would be back to make a donation. And the tears in his eyes made me want to cry. There is just something so special about the heart of those who are too often misunderstood. 

But aren't we all longing for understanding?

Some, it seems, more so than others.

So, why do we insist on putting each other down and excluding our brothers?

I just pray that the flame that burns so bright in the hearts of those in which you would least expect it... I pray that the passion continues to burn brighter and brighter until the world is set on fire with love for one another.

What will it take?

It will take the attention of those with compassion and openness to draw out and point out the best qualities of others around them. It will take vulnerability. It will take love, true love... a love like Jesus showed... a love that will melt away the sorrows and cause a spark to ignite into a flame. 

We need change.

We need to stop being afraid to approach one another,

To stop judging because one person doesn't do things the way that another may do things.

It takes a realization that each person on this planet was created with a unique set of qualities, 

a beauty that is unveiled with a little encouragement and care.

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Just one look and I could see

There was something different

Different about the way that you 

Carried yourself

So many others tried to say that

You were different

That you'd never fit in

With the way that they

Went about doing things

But you never let it get you down

Oh, you should never let it get you down

Cause you are special

You are the only one

Of your kind

Let your fire burn 

Brighter

Let your spirit soar

Higher

Cause you were made for

Great things

I can see

You were meant to 

Shine!

Something pure. Something true.

What is love?

That question, reminiscent of a 90s house song... It holds so much weight. I bet many philosophers and laymen alike have pondered over centuries about the meaning of this word that is all too often thrown around.

Love...

It will bring you higher than the clouds...
Then have you plunging lower than the depths of the sea in a bewilderment,
wondering what went wrong and,
"if only things could be different would the outcome change?"

I know I'm not the only one who has wondered, "what am I doing throwing myself in front of buses for this person?"

It is this emotional wreck that comes from sacrifice and investment of time that has me contemplating why in the world, or even universe, would one ever put oneself through the torture.

There is beauty though. A certain beauty from pain that keeps the heart pumping, driven by each step towards forever or any hint of hope.

But does it even take a glimpse of that hope that there will be a future together? Is that true love?
A conditional clause dependent on reciprocation of emotions?

I am convinced that love is something more.

It is not simply flowery words that flatter and stir up emotion.
I believe it is a dedication, a learning experience, and a beautiful display of faithfulness and sacrifice.

I am starting to see that it takes a patient ear combined with a pensive and sensitive mind that considers the other's thoughts and feelings in the hardest of circumstances. It takes a commitment and a conviction that goes beyond the mindset that there is always something better and beyond the thinking that if things start to falter you can just move on. It takes forgiveness. It takes time.

Love is mysterious and we may never fully understand that grand mystery,
The force that compels young ones to travel great distances in an attempt to reunite,
The concoction that causes grown men to act like fools,
It may never be possible to put this concept into words that can accurately express the emotions it incites....
But it may always cause the world to stop and notice when the purest of loves is displayed.