Win

Love wins. Let that sink in. Love wins. My last really serious conversation of my collegiate career was with my good friend Karmen. We threw around ideas, reflections and memories of our time at school. At one point she turned to me and asked me simply, "What is the one thing that you think you've walked out of Benedictine really knowing?" I thought about it for a minute and all that I could simply say is that love is everything, love is the cornerstone of existence, love wins. What a concept, something that is just so concrete and real to Christianity, but something that is forgotten time and time again. 

I look back at the four years that helped to form me into who I am today and I would not be in the place I am at all had it not been for love, period. Countless times I considered transferring out of school to go someplace else, someplace away from the drama, the pain, the hurt, the frustrations that sometimes accompany small Catholic schools. Countless times I'd wake up and stare at the ceiling (or bottom bunk in the case of Junior year) and just wonder, "Why am I here?" Love. Love is why I was there, love is what transformed me, love is what brought me low and raised me up, love is what shattered my heart and stitched it back together again making it even more beautiful than it was before, love is what slapped me across the face and called me to a life beyond my own confined view of what it should be, love is what won my soul. Despite the ups and downs, the joys and pains, the laughter and the tears, one thing flowed through it all and kept everything together, love. Thomas Merton said once, "Nothing counts except love." That's it, the Lord of the universe came and sacrificed Himself to be with us because He loves us. Love is the end game. Love is the key to life. Love is all that matters. Love wins.

I stand on the threshold of a new chapter of my life. There are countless questions that face me and plague my mind, but ultimately, it's okay that I don't know what's next, because I know the end of it all, love wins. If I'm called to live at home, love wins. If I'm called to Wyoming, love wins. If I'm called to the midwest to pursue my heart's desire, love wins. Jesus says in John 16:33, "I have conquered the world" that is, the King of Love has conquered the darkness and depths of sin. Love wins. In how I relate to my family, love must win. In how I relate to my friends, love must win. In how I relate to my God, love must win. That's it, that is the crowning jewel of my educational experience at Benedictine, nothing else matters but love because ultimately love wins. It is time for me to let go, to dive in, to jump, trust that He will catch me and just let love win in my life. That's it, nothing else matters, only love. God, Who is Love has given Himself to us, His sacrifice on the cross is the most radical statement ever made in the history of the universe: love wins.