I. LOVE. Tenth Avenue North. I have been listening to them a lot lately, and I just can't get their song "Any Other Way" out of my head. If you have never heard them or this song, I highly recommend it :-) Hearing the song got me thinking about a lot of things....
Has anyone ever asked you "hey, how are you?" and your response, without even thinking, is simply "good, how about you?" Why is that? Why has 'good' become an acceptable answer to that question. What does that even mean? I am absolutely guilty of giving that response, and even accepting that response from others. And I know we can't always be getting into these deep conversations about how someone really is, but then why even ask the question if you aren't seeking a real answer?
I didn't even realize how easily I brushed off that question until this past summer, at camp. Covecrest is the only place I have been where the answer 'good' is never acceptable. And I mean never. It's crazy how many times I would catch myself simply answering "oh, I'm good. How are you?" when someone would ask me how I was. But you better believe that Erik Martin would be right there to respond, "what is good?" Every time. He wanted a real answer. Like I said before, I know it's not practical to genuinely answer that question all of the time--like when you are passing someone in the quad on the way to class, or when you run into someone you don't really know and they just automatically blurt out, 'hey, how are you' and you know they aren't actually looking for the real answer. But sometimes, I think we owe it to the people in our lives and to ourselves to authentically answer that question.
Why are we so afraid to share our pain? It's become far to easy to keep everything inside. We try so hard to hide our weakness, our sadness, our hurt. But why? It's ok to feel those things. Actually, it's more than ok. Isn't all of that a vital part to any relationship? Things don't always have to be sunshine and laughter. It's not possible. It's not real. Christ loved always. Even when it hurt, even when it was messy, and even when that love meant dying on a cross. That is undoubtedly the purest example of love we will ever know. Christ showed His perfect love for us through pain, hurt, and suffering. If perfect love was made known through such raw feeling, why do we feel like we have to hide our own real emotions? If there is no pain and brokenness, is it really love?
Do yourself a favor and listen to this song.
"It's not enough just to say that you're ok. I need your hurt. I need your pain. It's not love any other way."
Love radically,
Marissa
