Isn't it harmless? (real love VS. reality)

the unseen costs of loving well

isn't it harmless
our house foggy in rearview mirrors
blinded by should've, could've 
long lost sisters

weren't You there Father. not further
right beside pain's porch
that summer
sipping sweet honey chamomile tea?

did You rock me to sleep on our old dodine chair?
eyes opened. eyes closed
your smiles in my memories wander 
so I wonder
uncle, grandma, the others 
if I could have loved you better

isn't it harmless
Mrs. What-if staring at our driveway again 
shaking her head, asking for different footprints

maybe... just maybe
should've said I'm here more
could've held your hands a little tighter
the way a child clutches a candy wrapper

isn't it harmless
that our GPS said on the narrow road 
with no ETA or apologies near

so do I really know the best way there?
getting rerouted time and time again
who are You to tell me
turn left or make a U-turn?

isn't it harmless
memories sitting in our living room
replaying the old rejection tune

our tear-soaked pillow choir sing 
the familiar refrain
to be human is to bleed a little always

isn't it harmless
being overlooked again
your words
no volume. no reply. nothing but vapor

so were we made for a different world?
growing pains hardly normal
old wounds keep tingling like they're fresh
living in-between not quite there yet

isn't it harmless
open hands holding out your heart
trading trauma for a connection

but what do I do with hands still empty?
a love time stole away?
burning palms left hanging
waiting for a sorry that never came

You forgave without hearing a sorry first
forgive them for they 
do not know as Your anthem.

You're 100% man, 100% God
could one man ever attempt?
but You did say we have a helper

isn't it harmless
loving as Jesus did
no ceiling. no limits.

uprooting pride takes wine-red sweat
a threshold few are willing to travel
still suffering is our path to die
looking like our savior

they say true love means sacrifice
not an emotion, but real action
clinging our gravitational center to something greater

as we dig through muddy wells
with strong natural fiber
manila ropes anchoring our waist
discovering infinite limits
nothing wasted

we pour from newly stretched wineskin
to love with a tight yet loose thread

isn't it harmless
isn't it harmless...

still think it’s harmless?

---

Heart Call:

Oh no this is not invitation to love less—but love and release our grip.

• What memory do you keep replaying,
  hoping it’ll give you closure?

• Who are you still waiting to hear sorry from,
  when God already said to let it go?

---

Photo Credits: Baylee Gramling.