Lewis on love

What else would I write about on February 14? Nothing mushy, though.

My sister brought a Valentine's cake for us to share.

A few days ago, I recalled this quote from C.S. Lewis:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

I remember coming back from a short-term trip to Russia. Christ’s love had done new works in me and through me. I am not talking about romantic love in this case. It comes in all forms. But I came home and crashed. I felt like I had been deceived. What was the point of loving and leaving? I felt like I was suffocating, and I never wanted to experience it again. Except that, without the pain, I wouldn’t have experienced real love. And instead of staying locked up, I went back to Russia. To stay? No one knows.

Not all situations end in a crash, but, as Lewis says, there is always that possibility. But it's worth it.