love
in a young girl’s song;
fearful,
determined,
hopeful,
bursting.
love
in a mother’s song;
tender,
embracing,
challenging,
stern.
love
is god’s song;
curious yet timid,
playful and wondering,
coming among us again.
we light a candle for love.
—Katherine Hawker
Love is never an accident. It is, rather, quite the opposite.
The phrase “falling in love” has always been something of a struggle for me. A fall is never planned. It is always unexpected. An accident. One second you’re standing…the next you’re not. That image of love, I feel, is a little deceptive.
But the more I think about it, maybe love is like a fall…a waterfall. Once flowing from the source it is unstoppable. Undammed it has great power. The power to change lives. And hearts. To take the mundane rivers of life and turn them into something breathtakingly beautiful.
True love is intentional. A choice.
No, God’s love for us is no accident. He chose us. And he wraps us in his love…in much the same way the newborn Jesus was wrapped in a swaddling cloth. He holds us close. And sings his love over us. May we know that love…and the power it brings…in a special way this advent season.
—Nick
Second B Advent 2011 