The Cost Of Love

You see, growing up, I was kind of the prodigal son of the family.

I stayed in trouble, hardheaded, always wanted to do my own thing, even when I was told not to.

Testing patience, pushing the limits, thinking I already knew enough to direct my own life.

And honestly, I wanted to experience everything life had to offer, whether it was good for me or not.

whether it was wise or not, or whether it was destructive or not.

Just like the prodigal son in the Gospel of Luke, I wanted freedom without fully understanding responsibility.

I wanted experience without consequences.

I wanted independence without wisdom.

And looking back now, I realize how much grace my father had with me.

Because the interesting thing is, he didn't give up on me.

In fact, sometimes he pressed me harder than my other brothers.

And when you're young, that can feel unfair.

It can feel like, why are you always on me? Why are you pushing me so hard? Why can't you just leave me alone? But age has a way of translating things differently.

Because now I understand that real love isn't always soft.

Real love corrects.

Real love challenges.

Real love worries.

Real love refuses to casually watch you destroy yourself.

And sometimes true love has to practice tough love.

Sometimes love has to let you go experience consequences, just like the father in the prodigal son story.

He let his son leave, let him make choices, let him learn, but he never stopped being his father and he never stopped loving him.

And maybe that's one of the hardest parts of love, understanding that you can't always control the people you care about.

You can only continue loving them through the process of becoming.

And man, now standing on the other side of life a little more, I'm grateful my father loved me enough not to quit on me.