Courage (Love) Can't Wait

Carve out time today for prayer and quiet contemplation.
Read this poem as part of your devotional time.

When people talk about love
They talk about heartbreak.
They talk about the love that
got away,

And the love that left them longing.

When people talk about love
Rarely do they say, “be brave.”

I wish they would.

To love is to pull the oxygen from
your lungs and to say,
“Here, take a breath.”
To love is to come out from hiding,
To allow the light to shine on you.
To love is to wear your heart outside
of your body—
Fingers crossed that the holder
handles it with care.
To love is to trust that sometimes
hurt and pain come with the
territory,
But you’re going to love anyway.

So love anyway.

Love like there’s no tomorrow.
Love as if love is not a scarcity.
Love like Mary, who cradled a baby
amidst the threat of being stoned.
And love like Joseph, who took a
child in that he knew was not
his own.

Of course I say all of this because
I need to hear it too.
There are dusty corners of my heart
that I still protect—
Love stored up like grain

While the world is in famine.

So the next time you see me,
Remind me to be brave.
The next time you see me,
Invite me to stand in the light
with you.
The next time you see me,
Handle with care and maybe,
Just maybe,
We’ll find a holy and wild
Love that won’t wait.
When people talk about love

They talk about heartbreak.

Rarely do they say, “be brave.”

I wish they would.

Prayer by Sarah Are