"Love never fails." // 1 Corinthians 13:4
My heart sank in my chest as I heard the words that felt all too familiar: I don’t love you anymore.
As I made my way to my car, fighting back tears that would surely come as soon as I closed the door of my ‘04 Chevy Impala, my mind recited the litany of similar sentiments I had heard so many times before:
I’m leaving.
You’re not worth it.
I don’t want to settle.
My history reminded me of the countless times that I’d been left wondering what more I could have done. Should I have been funnier? Run a couple of extra miles? Should I have just simply been a better friend/daughter/girlfriend etc?
My heavy heart begged the question: am I worth loving?
In today’s readings, Saint Paul appeals to us the greatest call of our lives: to love. But my dear sister, we can never do so until we recognize how deeply loved we are.
The love of Christ, freely given at every moment, is not merely a consolation prize for when our human experiences leave us desolate: it is the very meaning of our existence. Each one of us was willed into existence by a loving Father Who has no intention of walking out.
No matter how your human experience has shaped your idea of love, I want to encourage you to accept today’s reading as a free gift given to you by your Heavenly Father. As you go back and reflect on the words of Saint Paul, do so with the knowledge that He Who is Love willed you into existence, which means that you are worthy of receiving the truest form of love.
And He never fails.