Love Is A Battlefield

My favorite movies are love stories. This has been true for as long as I can remember. I enjoy watching a man and a woman taking those first uncertain steps toward one another. It's the way that the two of them are drawn in. The looks that pass between them or the way one hangs on the other's every word. Love stories are simply the best. 

I must admit that many of my favorite love stories are those that take you through the struggle as well as the triumphs. I love being able to watch them navigate through the struggles that Hollywood tries so hard to make resemble our everyday lives. Even in the movies, there is a sense of who will give up and who will dig in their heels and fight. There is a sense of who believes that love is worth fighting for. Those are the stories that I gravitate to because love is not the sum of stolen kisses and passion filled nights. Love is a battlefield and those who wish to remain in it know that they must fight.

Sadly, most don't understand what it means to fight. We think that fighting involves yelling, name calling, and tears. We believe that the best fights involve withholding affection and at least 24 hours of the silent treatment. If we are in what we believe is a heated battle, we throw accusations that cripple what's left of our trust. Love is a battlefield.

But, when will we learn what it means to fight? When will we understand that the fight is not to wound the one we say we love? The battle that we wage is to reclaim them. The battle that we fight is to restore everything that has been broken. Love is patient. Love is kind. We say these words when it looks like we are fighting on the same team. Few understand how important patience and kindness are when the relationship is under attack. Love is a battlefield.

Are you willing to fight for love? Are you willing to dig in your heels and stand against attacks? Will you forgive without reservations? Will you set aside how you feel to lift the one you love in prayer so that they are restored? Will you run towards them when they hurt you and it seems like nothing will ever be alright? Love is a battlefield.


Then the LORD said to me, "Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the LORD still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them."

Hosea 3:1