Tuesday, August 7, 2012

What does love look like?

Love isn't always pretty on the outside.


Sometimes love wears work boots.
It has rough hands and sweat stains.

It shows up and does what you can't do alone.


Love comes alongside and wields a saw when you don't have the skill to do it yourself.


It quietly comes in,
marking and measuring things of the heart as well as the job at hand.


Like the old-fashioned barn raisings of yesteryear,
neighbor love wears plain clothes and simply shows up to offer a helping hand.

What would we do without this kind of love?


The job that looked impossible is finished. 

The laughter is but a memory; the friends have gone home.

And I am left to hope that I, too, show this kind of love.
Love in work boots.
Hands-dirty love.

The real thing.