Love Brought Me Back

Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2 (NRSV) 

If you were to ask me what I thought was the hardest moment in someone’s life, I might guess one of the dramatic parts—the ones you could write a movie about. But sometimes, it’s not the drama. Sometimes, it’s the quiet ache of staying. 

I talked to someone recently who said the worst moment of their life wasn’t a sudden tragedy. It was living beside the person they loved while watching them refuse the medically prescribed treatment. For them, it meant watching the other suffer and, eventually, knowing there’s nothing more to be done. They said, “I couldn’t figure out how to bear it.” 

I’ve heard that same heartbreak from someone else too, only this time, it was their child. 

You don’t get to walk away from either kind of love. It’s the kind that brings you back—even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. Not for abuse, to be clear, but for the companioning God asks.   

It’s the kind of love that Jesus models: not sentimental, not soft, but fierce in its presence. It shows up. It doesn’t disappear when the diagnosis comes or when the person you’re caring for can’t say thank you. This kind of love bears burdens that don’t have timelines or tidy endings. 

It’s not easy. But it is sacred. 

So if you’re in that season right now—where love has brought you somewhere you didn’t expect to be, somewhere heavy—know this: God’s love is bearing you, too. 

Prayer
Love should’ve and does bring me back, again and again, even when I can’t see how to get there. God, grant me to be present in the way my heart can bear, by your grace. Amen.

About the Author
Kaji Douša is the Senior Pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, in New York City.