The Ugly Side of Love

Love is such a glamorous emotion. There are songs written about it. There are feature length films about it. We all wish we could experience it more deeply. Many of the images we hold of love are filtered through starry eyes. Puppies, babies, sweet candies, spring meadows. Glowing and wonderful things happen when we are in love. All very nice. But there is another side to love. The side that rolls up it’s shirtsleeves and gets dirty. The ugly side of love.

Love gets ignored. It takes love to do the laundry for a family week after week. It takes love to cook meals day after day. It takes love to go to a job and work hard to provide for the family. It takes love to tend to the ordinary side life. We don’t always acknowledge this. We take it for granted sometimes.

Loves gets it’s hands dirty everyday with the mundane. Washing up after dinner. Cleaning out the fridge. Doing the taxes. Balancing the checkbook. Disciplining the children. Staying late to finish a key presentation. Love shows up to keep life going.

Love gets filthy when it steps in where others may not go. Airlifting aid to countries in need. Battling human trafficking. Fighting for political freedoms. Saving endangered species. Love tackles these and more to keep the world going.

The things love works at are beautiful. It takes a lot of hard work to keep pouring love into the life you lead. And when love gets tired and dirty from all the hard work, we have a renewal resource to call on. The power of prayer and God’s grace fills us up so we can get back to work.

Loving the work you do, whatever it is, makes it easier to dig in and give your very best. May the love you offer your world today drain you so you need to be filled with the Spirit again. Ask for the strength to love the world deeply. You’ll need it, you may get dirty.

'Loves gets it’s hands dirty everyday with the mundane,' Lisa Bogart @Grit_Grace
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