“Purple” Rose, Big Spring Park, Huntsville, Alabama. [Altered Photo]
I found the rose last December showing off in Big Spring Park in Huntsville, Alabama. It was simply gorgeous and many people were pleasantly surprised to find its unexpected beauty.
Van Gogh offers more than a “quotable quote” here. Instead of making a pithy statement about art, he uses art to challenge our notions of love. Moving us beyond ideas of love as feelings and romance, he calls us to love in a way that an artist creates. And that is anything but romantic or fleeting.
When we experience a finished work of art–visual, written or spoken, performed, musical composition–we respond with admiration or distaste without ever fully considering what the artist pours into the work or how gut-wrenchingly vulnerable it makes one to place the inner life on display.
When we truly love people, we are similarly crafting and creating, unveiling our most intimate self and making ourselves vulnerable to the scrutiny, judgement, and sometimes the disdain of others. Our love for people doesn’t always mean they will love us back and though our natural inclination is to protect ourselves, we must learn to love them regardless…
This point was driven home for me and my little one last week, as he was present when someone disrespected me in a public forum. Though angry, my little one emphasized that he “admired [my] restraint” because he knows that many people wouldn’t have taken it so calmly. On our drive home we talked about where that “restraint” comes from. I was honest with him. Some base part of me could have humiliated the man and “put him in his place,” perhaps deservedly so, but that this man could behave this way suggests that he needs my prayers, not my tongue. In an instant during the exchange, I paused long enough to hear from God, check myself, and recognize in the offender the child of God whom I am called to love.
Van Gogh is not speaking of simply loving people in our circles, those with whom we already share a heart connection, or those who are easy to love. Nor is he simply speaking of a general, abstract love for humanity. The artistry and mastery of love come as a result of loving through challenge and difficulty and loving people who aren’t loving, even people who can be mean and evil. It comes as a result of seeing them as complex beings who, like a work of art, are more than what we immediately see.
Just as it takes more than a few strokes of the artist’s brush to create a masterpiece, it takes intense soul work and an intimate and constant connection with the Divine to make art of loving people.
Pics and Posts 
LOVE
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Christine!
LikeLike
Beautifully written ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Paige! Your name is very “literary.” I just noticed. 😉
LikeLike
I don’t regularly check my mailbox at work, but I definitely will from now on because I received one of your lovely postcards today! Thank you so much for your kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity…I am fortified by it and feel confident that I can draw the strength I will need to love when circumstances make that response difficult.Thank you, sistah!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awww…you’re welcome. Then, my plan to “surprise” you with a postcard worked. Isn’t it wonderful to receive happy mail at work? Hoping it gets you through the tough spots. Hugs!
LikeLike
…it already has, Sistah! Thank you so much.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing. It is hard abiding in the vine. As I continue to do so, I am reminded that every difficult and unwarranted challenge serves as a chance for the Spirit to prune me that the LORD’s character comes through this branch.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is such a wonderful post, and you made me see that quote in a whole new way. I especially love this line and will think of it as I move through the rest of my week: “this man could behave this way suggests that he needs my prayers, not my tongue.”
LikeLike
Very true Dr. Chandra 🙂
Love will always involve the same vulnerability that a person opens to the world, without which this world would just be s network of fences, rather than the vibrant living hive that is true humanity. Love your purple rose.
LikeLike