Saint Dirty Face

Somebody you love is going to make a decision you absolutely hate.

Maybe you’ve warned them.

Maybe you’ve helped them.

Maybe you’ve watched them walk straight toward the same wall they already hit twice.

And every protective instinct in you says:

Stop them.

But eventually you learn one of the shittier lessons of loving people:

You cannot rescue someone by taking away their right to choose.

You can tell the truth.

You can offer your hand.

You can set boundaries.

You can refuse to finance the disaster.

You can say, I love you, but I won’t help you destroy yourself.

And then sometimes—

you have to let them walk.

That’s not abandonment.

And it sure as hell isn’t indifference.

It’s understanding that love doesn’t give us ownership of another person’s life.

Some lessons cannot be handed down.

They have to be lived.

That doesn’t mean you stand there smugly waiting for the inevitable I told you so.

Hell no.

When somebody you love finally turns around, bruised by a lesson you desperately wanted to spare them from, they don’t need a prosecutor.

They need to know where home is.

There is strength in saying:

I warned you because I love you.

I couldn’t choose for you because I love you.

And I’m still here because I love you.

Faith has something to say about that too.

God gave human beings free will.

Maybe there’s something worth learning from the fact that even divine love doesn’t operate like a hostage situation.

So protect when protection is yours to give.

Speak when truth needs a voice.

Set the boundary when the boundary needs setting.

Then understand where your authority ends.

Sometimes love grabs someone’s hand.

Sometimes love lets go.

And sometimes love simply—

leaves the porch light on.

SAINT DIRTY FACE™
Imperfect on Purpose. Faithful with Fangs.