Into every loving relationship comes the inevitable quarrel that moves those involved into their respective corners, holding fast to their version of the truth. And as the saying goes, there are three sides to every story: Yours, mine, and the truth.
From a more sensitive perspective, I read somewhere that a lover's quarrel "is like a storm at sea; all the fury is on the surface, but underneath there is a deep current of love."
Engraved on the tombstone of poet Robert Frost are these words: "I had a lover's quarrel with the world." Frost himself chose that epitaph. What it means, really, is that he had a lover's quarrel with God. And, whether we realize or not, the same is true of us all. We have an ongoing lover's quarrel with the world and with God because of the evil we encounter in our lives. Why is there so much war and hatred? Why so much sickness and sorrow? Why so much anxiety and insecurity? Why so much loneliness and emptiness? Why death? Why did God make such an imperfect world?
We sometimes despair that the world is not perfect, forgetting that if it were, there might not be a place for us in it and there might not be a place for our loved ones in it, for we all fall short of perfection. It was into this world that we were called. It was into this world that our loved ones were called. Consequently, whenever we quarrel with God's world, let's be sure that it's a lover's quarrel. Let's never forget to love this world because it is a gift of Grace; it is a gift of God...from God.
I cannot think of any other explanation for why we are here. And I cannot think of a better attitude to nurture in living out our four score and seven, give or take. Can you?
From a more sensitive perspective, I read somewhere that a lover's quarrel "is like a storm at sea; all the fury is on the surface, but underneath there is a deep current of love."
Engraved on the tombstone of poet Robert Frost are these words: "I had a lover's quarrel with the world." Frost himself chose that epitaph. What it means, really, is that he had a lover's quarrel with God. And, whether we realize or not, the same is true of us all. We have an ongoing lover's quarrel with the world and with God because of the evil we encounter in our lives. Why is there so much war and hatred? Why so much sickness and sorrow? Why so much anxiety and insecurity? Why so much loneliness and emptiness? Why death? Why did God make such an imperfect world?
We sometimes despair that the world is not perfect, forgetting that if it were, there might not be a place for us in it and there might not be a place for our loved ones in it, for we all fall short of perfection. It was into this world that we were called. It was into this world that our loved ones were called. Consequently, whenever we quarrel with God's world, let's be sure that it's a lover's quarrel. Let's never forget to love this world because it is a gift of Grace; it is a gift of God...from God.
I cannot think of any other explanation for why we are here. And I cannot think of a better attitude to nurture in living out our four score and seven, give or take. Can you?
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