“Don’t get attached”, they say.
“Keep your emotional boundaries”, they say.
“You will get hurt”, they say.
“Don’t get taken advantage of’, they say.
If I was a doctor, perhaps yes.
If I was a therapist, of course.
If I was a social worker, sure.
But I am community.
Called to love others,
as I would love to be loved.
Called to love others,
The way God loves me.
And he is attached to me.
His emotions are limitless for me.
He hurts when I hurt.
I cannot take advantage because he has freely given me all advantage.
“Don’t get attached”, they say.
“Don’t risk love”, they mean.
“Keep your emotional boundaries”, they say.
“Don’t let love in” they mean.
“You will get hurt”, they say.
“Nothing is worth suffering for”, they mean.
“Don’t get taken advantage of” they say.
“People don’t deserve you”, they mean.
But I am community.
Called to love others,
as I would love to be loved.
Called to love others,
the way God loves me.
And he risks love for me.
He lets love in.
He says I am worth suffering for.
He says I deserve him.
How then shall we love?
For the very nature of love is to suffer.
Perhaps, we can learn to risk love,
And learn to heal from the pain.
Perhaps we can learn to let love in,
With a healthy capacity to let love go.
Perhaps we can learn that loving people is worth suffering for,
And that we must therefore learn to live with resilience.
Perhaps we can learn that people deserve to be fought for
But not to lose ourselves in those people if they choose a different way.
I am community.
Called to love others,
as I would love to be loved.
Called to love others,
the way God loves me.
So I will love and I am not afraid.
© SJ Portal
