An Open Letter to All Men

Dear Men,

With love and respect I say, out of the depths of the collective heart of womankind –

I do not want to be obsessed over: I long to be loved.

I do not want to be put on a pedestal: I long to be seen in my brokenness and humanity.

I  do not want to be treated as an opportunity: I long to be cherished as a responsibility.

I do not want to be possessed: I long to be held.

I do not want to be figured out or “mended”: I long to be accepted.I do not want to be told all the things a man thinks I want to hear, nor to be given my way in everything: I long to be creatively challenged, again and again, and to be tirelessly encouraged to become less selfish and less inward.

I do not want to be a monthly muse: I long to be a lifelong companion.

I do not need premature kisses, embraces, lingering looks or passionate words: I long for commitment, fidelity, temperance and honesty; for the slow-in-coming, life-giving warmth of your tender touch.

I do not want to be flirted with as though I am forgettable: I long to be delighted in, like a child delights in the mysterious unpredictability of the ocean.

I do not want to be belittled or torn down: I long to be teased and prodded in tenderness and mirth.

I do not want to be pressured to compromise: I long for the mere presence of a man to inspire me to joyfully recommit myself to my deepest and purest convictions.

I do not want to be one among many: I long to be the only one.

I do not want to be a crutch or a “get-away”: I long to be a sure support and a refuge for my man.

I do not need to be told again that I am the pinnacle of creation, as beautiful as that truth is: I long to be reminded that God was born in poverty, and that He makes all things new.

I do not want for you to be alone: I long to be beside you, to help you.

I do not want you to feel that you must be mighty all the time: I long to hold you as you weep (for I know that you weep).

I do not want you to grovel, or grasp, or ravage: I long for you to be virtuous, that you may respect yourself, and that you may live life fully.

I do not want to slake your thirst or satisfy your desires: I long to be like the sturdy banks of a river that keeps your raging torrents flowing ever onward unto Heaven.

In https://alannaboudreau.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/an-open-letter-to-all-men/