One word perfectly sums up my mom’s love for me—availability. Countless tear-filled midnight chats during my teen years, regular “taxi service” to help me run errands, and her commitment to drop whatever she’s doing to greet me at the door with a smile and a hug even if I show up unannounced—these are some of the ways she loves me well.
What comes to mind when you think about loving someone else? Being kind, compassionate, slow to anger? All good! But have you considered that sometimes love can be confrontational? That love might mean calling out a brother or sister in Christ when they are making destructive, ungodly choices?
When she was only twenty-three years old, Rachelle Starr started going to strip clubs to share Christ’s love with the dancers. Now, having founded a Christian ministry to people in the adult entertainment industry, she demonstrates the key to shining Christ’s light into the darkness–love people one at a time and continue to love them no matter what.
At the end of our lives, we will no longer care about who weighed the least, who made the most, or who achieved human greatness. When each of our lives passes from time into eternity, our former street address will be unimportant, our marital status will matter no more, and the upward climb on the corporate ladder will seem worthless. What will matter at the end of life is how well we loved those whom we were given. It always comes back to love, doesn’t it?
I hesitantly adjust my gaze to meet my new postpartum belly. It mockingly stares back at me. Amidst the saggy skin and stretch marks—which I carried home with me after my previous postpartum stints—this same body boasts a new alteration. My mid-section now bears a six-inch scar a few inches below my belly button. It is still red and tender to touch.