Purity: She's Worth All Of The Hulabaloo

It's a huff and a puff, uphill, sweaty, and downright ruthless uphill battle to keep purity around. She's expensive. So expensive. Like, dang girl, give us all a break! But she's so worth it. Because you know what? There's just something about purity. There's something in her name that sounds like bells, the kind they hook to horses when their hooves patter and pull the carriages through the freshly fallen snow. And there's just nothing more magical than that.

**By now, y'all should already know that "normal" isn't exactly the most fitting word to describe me. By any stretch. I'm not your typical 20-year-old girl. I'm the girl that leaves parties early to go home and write until the wee hours of the night, sculpting stories and breathing life into my characters: Tragedy. Happiness. Envy. Life. Purity. And the leading lady of them all- Love.**

Love is a beautiful girl all dolled up and glowing in an elegant red dress, hair long and flowing ever-so-graciously in the wind, and long fingers curled around a spiced hot cocoa. Love, she always spoke so gracefully, so melodically, and so softly. In a world where we have always wanted things to be neat and orderly, precise and predictable, love has never truly fit in. She's the rebel of the group. She's so different that she's completely and positively irresistible. We get one taste of her, and we can't help but want more. She's in high demand.

And because of that, in my stories she always kept a body guard around. She had a body guard because people were always trying to misuse and abuse her. People were trying to make Lady Love something she was not- something cheap and something easy. So, she hired Purity as her body guard. And DANG, did they make for one dynamic duo! Like, Batman and Robin. Or Bert and Ernie. Or any other heroic pair that you can think of. Except so, so much better.

'Cause, you see, where Tragedy and Envy came and tried blowing us over like little piggies with super power breath, Purity came sweeping in as the quiet fighter, combatting for our hearts as the ever-patient sidekick of Love. I know that one for a fact. After a magical and endearing year-and-a-half of dating one of the most incredible guys on planet earth, Purity, I believe, was one of the leading heroes assisting in holding me together when all I wanted to do was break down. But in a still small voice, Purity reminded me of how I had nothing to regret, and how I was a better person because of that relationship. Because of that relationship I now stand up taller than ever, more whole than ever.

To be able to walk away from a nearly two-year relationship absolutely, positively 100% regret-free because of the constant price that was paid to keep Purity around- geesh. That's a beautiful thing. That's a beautiful thing that I thank God for every day. I thank God for protecting me in that way and I thank God for giving me the privilege and honor of dating someone who loved me so much that he knew that I was worth the high price of Purity.

You're worth it like that. Don't you know you're worth it like that?

Sometimes we as girls think that Purity gets in the way of Love. When really, Purity is protecting Love, guarding Love, growing Love. I think back to those nights where the fight was almost just too much. To those nights where I thought I was going to give up. And then I think back to that boy. And I think back to every time he was strong enough to say no, and every time he was strong enough to stop us from compromising Purity. And I smile. I smile because he knew what Love was about all along. He knew that Purity was there to guard love,  to keep her from becoming anything less than what she really is. And what she really is is the most beautiful, dazzling, treasured thing you could ever gain on this side of eternity. Love. Isn't she something?

So girls, my challenge to you is this: Stop fearing that purity and keeping parts of your body from guys before you are married will withhold Love from you or somehow keep you from Love.  Maybe you need to rethink this whole Love thing and what it's all about. Do it. I dare you. Your eyes might water. And your tongue might get dry. And you might say you got this Love thing wrong the whole time. It was never running out, but always rushing in.

"Don't try to limit me," Love would say. "And don't think I'm leaving tomorrow or the day after Sunday. Don't box me in. Don't worry about me running out. I don't run out. I only rush in. Let me go where I need to go. Unleash me to dance with the ones you so adore. Let me get all wrapped up in them. Let me get tangled in their hair. But above all, don't be afraid to say that you want me- in every area, in every morning, in every hour. Just let me be as I was made to be. Thick. Big. Overwhelming, but understanding. Overflowing, but underrated."

So underrated.

So dig in. You. Just. Dig. In. To what life could look like when love is the ally- not the toxic home wrecker. And keep Purity around. You'll thank her later.

'Cause Life Can Be A Real $&@*% Sometimes

Life is a funny one. She can be so soft spoken. She can be graceful. She can be sweet as a summertime kiss, leaving you breathless and in awe, always wanting more.

But then other times.... other times she's relentless; she's a raging sea; she's painstakingly cruel, gutting you to the core and breaking you down- down as far as you can go. She comes after you in a take-no-prisoners-she's-out-for-blood kind of quest. You wanna run from her. You wanna hide. But, oh sweet pea, how
wild and how alluring it was when I just let it be- when I stopped running from her and just let her waves crash over me and take me away. Let yourself be gutted. Let it open you. Start here.

You see, the cards that life deals you, they're yours. You don't have a right to the cards you believe you should have been dealt with. But you have an obligation to play the hell out of the cards you're holding. Learn to love it all, baby. Learn to play it like a pro. After all, you only get one shot at this thing called life. And I want to love every second of it- every miserable, confusing, black and blue second of it.

No matter what happens though, be a warrior for love. Life can throw you everything she's got at you, but she can't tell you what to do with it. Only you can. Only you can tell life what to do with the broken heart she gave you. Do it no matter what is true. No matter what is hard. Fight. For. Love. FIGHT.

Heck yes, those sweet, precious, and beautiful seasons that life gives you are joyous and wonderful. (Life, if you're reading this, I'll gladly take any and all pretty moments you wanna give me.) But really and truly, you're not really living until you get a good beating from her; until you're face down to the ground and everything you ever thought was true and good has been stolen and destroyed.

When life came and smacked me in the face, something happened within me. It took time, but soon enough I realized that the smack in the face from life actually gave me a new "ummph" for life, if you will. A new zeal for my day-to-day living.

That good ole smackity smack down from life showed me that no one can protect you from suffering. You can't cry it away, eat it away, starve it away, punch it away, or even therapy it away. It's just there, and you have to survive it. You have to endure it. You have to live through it, and love it, and move on and be better for it, and run as far and as fast as you can for your best and happiest dreams that await you amidst it all.

So once I woke up and smelled my new fervor for life that life herself granted me through a good ole fashioned punch to the gut, I stopped resenting her for sending suffering and sorrow my way. I realized that it was never her and I against each other. She's been on my side all along. Both of us, working hand-in-hand through any and every life circumstance available, to learn more about love and fight for it with everything we have within us. Because it was never about me. It was never about life. It's always been and will always be all about love.