31 Days: Pathway to Perseverance - Persistent Love

I don't think that anyone would willingly choose a porcupine for a pet.  They may be cute as a button, but in between shiny locks of hair, they are decked out with protective quills that burrow into skin and at best leave behind scars and painful memories.

We have a porcupine in our family, but he is not an adorable little rodent, he happens to be one of our chosen children. Some days, all we see is the shiny outer fur. He has an engaging personality that is like a magnet filled with energy. Smart and thoughtful conversations, witty riddles, and curious exploration spill out. Then without a moment's notice, something deep and dark bubbles to the surface and fur is replaced with quills.

The quills are swift and indiscriminate. They drive to the deepest parts of us and with grapple-like precision, they snare and scar. We try to stand firm, not to withdraw or back away. Do we hug or do we hide, tenderness or tearing, friendship or fear, loving deeply or despite of--the pain. Do porcupines ever run out of daggers and simply become the adorable creature beneath the quills?

I really want to learn to love like Jesus. Nails driven right through wrists, thorny crown on precious head, pierced side, the worst pain imaginable, scars--our scars--carried to eternity and still he loves us. He never stops loving us, no matter how many times barbs fly, he loves.

Tonight we are removing quills, comforting wounds, asking God to give us strength to persist through the pain and to love like Jesus.












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