The thing about life is that it was never meant to fit neatly into a box. We tend to take the vibrant colors of the rainbow and try to turn them black and white, yet maybe we are missing the point because beauty is not mean to be contained. So often we look at people, categorizing them into what makes us feel comfortable as we become so concerned with outward appearance that we forget the value of every heart. Yet you see, human hearts are not made to be confined within four walls and not all emotions have names.
Labels have become the masks that we hide behind because we are afraid to look at pain in the eye. We are afraid of going deep and opening our hearts to emotions that have long since seen the light of day. For anyone can look at a rose and see the beauty, but I think in life we have lost an appreciation for the journey and so we often avoid the thorns. We have a tendency to look at people’s lives, viewing them as labels, whether it is homeless, drug addict or gang member, the more we say them the easier it becomes. Pretty soon the heartbeat behind the label becomes faint and we carry on living life, oblivious to the cries of the lost and hopeless. Instead of seeing faces, we so often see problems, but what we often fail to see is that we are the solution they are crying out for in their prayers.
Perhaps it is time that we stop making excuses. If we are honest and put down the masks we so easily hid behind, we will being to see that this fight isn’t about color, it isn’t about likes or dislikes, it is a fight for our voices to be heard. We have become good at being the oppressor, teaching people that their voice doesn’t matter as we shove them into our neat and tidy boxes. We have gotten it inside our head that life is meant to be black and white, the more you blend in the more we like you, yet the more we like you the more chained up you become.
All along we have been the ones holding the key, but somewhere in life’s journey we have let it get rusty as we choose to trade in kindness for judgmental glances. Instead of looking at people and speaking life to the flower of beauty within them, we become the thunderstorm that sends lightning and hail, demolishing even the slightest seed of hope. We so often look at the violence and hatred taking place in this world and rant about it on social media, sending up a few prayers. Yet we allow our silence to stop us from getting up to fight alongside the brokenhearted and those who are weeping. Instead we turn the key and lock ourselves up a safe distance away from the problem, denying those around us the love that is needed in order for them to bloom. If we open our eyes we might begin to see that the problem has a beating heart that is crying out for help.
There isn’t an easy solution, but Gods greatest commandment is to love and maybe that starts with humbling ourselves as we begin to remove the labels that society has placed on our fellow brothers and sisters. To love is to offer someone your shoes before questioning the rough and rocky road that they have been walking on. Love is as simple as allowing somebody to cry on your shoulder before you even hear their name.
People often ask how there can be a God when everywhere we look we are faced with crime, depression and suffering. I think a better question is why are we the ones allowing these things to happen when there is a kind and loving God who has entrusted us to be His light and love on this earth. True change will only start happening when we open our eyes and label people with love and truth, nothing else.
Instead of looking at people labeling them as hopeless, forgotten or unworthy take a second to look past your own fears and insecurities to let their stories become the fuel behind your heartbeat. Don’t underestimate the power of a kind word and the impact of meeting somebody where they are at with a loving smile. Allow the way that you live to restore what was once broken and to be the voice that calls out the hidden beauty in every person you meet. Every day you have the choice to settle into complacency as you wait for other people to begin to speak up, or you can stand up and refuse to settle for a life that is nothing less then living out love as you speak life into every wilting flower that you see.
Rose and Thorn 