Fighting is bad, right? I mean who actually enjoys going round and round and bringing up all those ugly feelings? Personally, I run from it. Like crazy. I avoid it, and I cry, and I make all kinds of excuses.
It’s never pretty.
But sometimes…
…love is worth the fight.
It’s worth the fight when moving forward is more important than staying the same.
It’s worth the fight when believing in someone’s best is greater than letting them be their worst.
It’s worth the fight when becoming who we’re meant to be eclipses believing we can never change.
And how does the fight look?
I imagine it takes on a different posture in each of us.
For some, it might be staying when everything in you wants to leave, and for others it might mean leaving, when all you want to do is stay.
Maybe it looks cold to some people, distant, and aloof when it’s actually thoughtful, respectful, and caring.
Maybe it leaves someone alone to let them figure it out, or maybe it doesn’t go away no matter what someone says.
In The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck says that love is being committed to someone else’s spiritual growth. I think he means doing what’s best for them, pointing them toward God, believing in the good.
To love someone like that is going to take a fight, and to love yourself like that isn’t going to be so easy either.
But it’s worth it.
If there is anything in this crazy world that’s worth a good fight, it’s love.
And it’s love, I believe, that helps us see what we’re made of.
We won’t do it perfectly.
The battle will leave us with scars and loss and pain, but I believe there is always a happy ending for love. It might take a while. It might seem impossible. And it might look different from what we hoped for. But it will happen, because when we really love ourselves and others, and when we really love God and accept his love for us, then something very good will happen.
But, of course, to get to the good stuff, we must first weather the fight, and there’s nothing easy or kind about that. It hurts.
I’ve stopped all my running, and I’m learning to fight. It hasn’t been fun, and those closest to me have felt the shift, but life is better now and love is real and I’m growing proud and thankful for my battle scars.
How about you? Are you in the fight too?
Love alone is worth the fight.
“he has loved you with an everlasting love.” (see Jeremiah 31:3)
Take a few minutes to listen to Switchfoot’s song, Love Alone is Worth the Fight.
Wow! Mary Beth, your blog posts just keep getting better and better. I love this one.
Thank you Cynthia!