Wait for a love that challenges you.

A love that challenges you is the kind of love that asks you to bring your best self to the table, each and every day. And when they ask you to bring your best self, they make sure to do the same, because love is a two-way street. You can say the difficult things at the table without fear – for you know that the words you share are rooted in love, and honesty, and trust.

A love that challenges you is the kind of love that asks you to think beyond what you already know. This kind of love pushes you beyond the ideas that you’ve internalized, the habits that you have formed, and the comforts in which you have grown accustomed. This kind of love doesn’t do this to be annoying, or nagging, or petty, or arrogant. This kind of love does this because they know it’s the way in which humans grow. And they want to grow, too, right alongside you. So they push themselves just as much, and they spark conversation, and they dig deep into long talks and break you out of cycles of bad habits. And through the digging and the breaking, you begin to grow and flourish, together.

A love that challenges you asks you to quit believing the lies you’ve told yourself since those awkward middle school years, or that season of depression, or that unhealthy relationship you once had. This kind of love sees your beauty, on the outside and in. This kind of love sees the magic of your smile and the twinkle of your eyes, and knows without a doubt you are capable of goodness and greatness. And so this love asks you to stare at yourself in the mirror until you start to see what they see. They continue to be a mirror of truth for you for the rest of your days.

We have internalized challenge as being a hardship, something negative and potentially disruptive.

But a love that challenges you?

That’s a gift. Wait for that kind of love.