Is it worth it?

Photo credit: Liz Hehman Photography

Have you ever felt completely broken by a friendship, relationship, etc? If you have, I’m right there with you. I have always been a very emotional person and tend to really pour my heart into things. Sometimes I wish that I didn’t open myself up to people, only to be hurt. I constantly ask myself the question, "Is loving people worth it when we experience hurt?”. However, God has been showing me that hurt is a normal part of life. He has shown me that I will come across points in life where I will lose a friendship, move on from a relationship, etc.  

As someone who likes to control things, it has been very hard to let go and give God my frustrations. My biggest issue is wanting some type of closure or an easy fix to the broken relationships, but life is messy and complex.

Sometimes people hurt us and we may never get the closure we desire.

So where does that leave us? I definitely don't have all the answers, but I believe it comes down to one simple word: grace. Grace to forgive, grace to move on, and grace to heal. It's interesting that as humans we go through hurt relationships because Jesus experienced it while he was on earth. He was betrayed by the people closest to him (EX) Peter denied him three times). Jesus didn’t give up on them, but extended grace.

​In Luke 23:24, it says that while on the cross Jesus cried out,  “...Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Another example of grace demonstrated in scripture is the well-known story of the prodigal son. After leaving home and living recklessly, the father welcomes his son home in a radical way.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’... “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him....For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’. So they began to celebrate” Luke 15: 21-22; 24

Grace is difficult sometimes. It's way easier to believe that we solely can fix the relationship. Not to say that we shouldn't attempt to ask for forgiveness or evaluate our actions for something we did wrong, but we must let go and choose grace. Choosing grace may look different for different people. It could be reaching out to talk to that person that hurt us or just praying for them and trusting God to intervene.

So again I come back to the question, “Is love worth it?”.

Yes, I believe it is. Because the same love and grace that we demonstrate when people hurt us is the love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross when he died for us. ​