I HAVEN’T PRAYED YET.
It’s too soon. I don’t know what to say.
It’s time to write this feature. I’m sitting here at the computer. Then, a few minutes ago, I get a text message on my phone.
I pause for several minutes.
Then I type a reply: Crying.
Not: Praying.
Not: Sorry.
Not: What can I do?
I’m a writer. I should come up with more than one word.
I’m a student of the Bible. I should remember something that can help.
A few days ago I paraphrased Paul’s famous essay about love.
“Words fade to silence.
Knowledge is forgotten…
Love never ends” (1 Corinthians 13:8 Casual English Bible).
Sometimes all we’ve got is love, and the pain that goes with it.
Sometimes, love looks like a grown man crying.
“We don’t see the big picture yet…But someday, when the time is just right, we’ll get to see…everything there is to see” (1 Corinthians 13:10-11 Casual English Bible).
I don’t have permission to tell you what’s going on. And I would never ask for it. What’s the point? Most people old enough to read this have already lived it.
I’m writing this to remind you, and myself, that even though love is sometimes all we’ve got and that sometimes love looks as ugly as a pile of snotty tissues in a home office wastebasket, there’s beauty to it.
The beauty is in knowing that we love and we are loved.
However love looks in the behavior we present, in the nature that drives our behavior…
“Love has a heart big enough to put up with everything.
Love never runs out of faith.
Never runs out of hope.
Never gives up” (1 Corinthians 13:7 Casual English Bible).
This is truly beautiful, Steve. And — though I don’t know specifically what you’re talking about — the feelings expressed are right on the nose.
Thanks, Steve.
I am sorry Mr. Miller. I will remember you when I pray the Rosary tonight. God Bless.
As I read the Casual Bible’s version of 1 Cor 13. I melted. It had a simplicity and beauty put to English; splendid and profound, simple and sensitive.
The tears are genuine – the tears of a heart that’s broken. I’ve always loved 1 Cor 13 but your words brought the reader into the narrative, to experience it at a deeper level. Beautiful, my friend.
Susan, so very kind. Thank you.
Steve