the ultimate risk

God's relationship with us and with us and our world is just that: a relationship. as with every relationship, there's a certain amount of unpredictability, and the ever-present likelihood that you'll get hurt. the ultimate risk anyone ever takes is to love, for as c.s. lewis says, "love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. if you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal." but God does give it, again and again and again, until He is literally bleeding from it all. God's willingness to risk is just astounding - far beyond what any of us would do if we were in His position.

there is definitely something wild in the heart of God......

~wild at heart by john eldredge

love is something that involves lots of mystery - it's some unexplainable, something amazing. there is something rooted deep in the heart of every girl, something that longs to be beautiful, fought for, and captivating.

it is our greatest expression of love when we reveal our true beauty, our feminine hearts, because our softness is what the world needs most from us. when we choose to offer our hearts, we are choosing to love. our focus shifts from self-protection of ourselves to the hearts of others. we offer beauty so their hearts might come alive, be healed, know God...that is love and that is what i seek to do.

sure, it's going to hurt. it'll likely leave a huge target for an "arrow" to strike, but in order for our hearts to truly come alive we must be willing to take this risk. for this very reason, we construct a life of safety (i will not be vulnerable there) and find some place to get a taste of being enjoyed or at least being needed...as frederick buechner says:

the trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed.

i have got to let down my walls, allow myself to be vulnerable, and live a passionate life of desire for Him, serving others, and opening up to care and love. to allow His Beauty to radiate through me...ultimately, to be vulnerable to Him.