As each new Mother’s Day comes and goes, I always reflect on my Mom. Having lost her some thirteen years ago now, her death lingers in my heart and mind each day and can create an emotional response even now.
The pain we experience when we lose someone we love is “the cost of caring” and though the cost is real and can be painful, it is always worth the price we pay.
You see, relationships are complex and there are times when they can be broken or damaged. Even when these times occur, having had the opportunity to love and to be loved makes the effort worthwhile.
It is interesting because this cost is not limited to death or even to a broken or damaged relationship. This cost can be felt when we change jobs, a friend moves away or when our children grow up and leave home. The resulting pain, though not the same as losing someone you love, is no less real.
The depth of the emotions felt in each of these cases is a by-product of love. It is as normal and natural as breathing because love is like the tide. It can ebb and flow, and not unlike that same tide, it never stops, because love never fails.
How do we know this is true?
The ultimate example of “the cost of caring” was shown to us by Jesus, where love led Him to the Cross to die for you and me.
So, when our lives are impacted by loss, relational strife, or times of tension, we must remember to love the same way we have been loved, no matter the cost.
We must understand, the cross we may have to bear and the hurt we may feel are only there because of love. Because of this truth, given the opportunity to relive the relationships I have and have had over again, there is only one thing I would change.
I would love each person more and I would hold on to them a little longer. No pain, remorse, heartache, or loss can ever change that for me. In fact, the recovery felt after we have gone through the situations we faced makes loving someone that much sweeter.
So, remember “the cost of caring” though real, is always outweighed by the cost of being cared for. Realizing it and understanding it may be the price we have to pay!
1 John 3:18, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
