I have always carried a soft spot in my heart for the Flash. Both Barry Allen and Wally West. Before gaining super powers, Barry Allen was a forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department, and an avid comic book collector. One stormy night, he is working on something and a lightning bolt shoots through the window, through some chemicals and into Barry. These electrified chemicals gave him his super speed. He adopts the name "Flash" from his favorite comic book hero and starts to fight crime.
His girlfriend Iris however, is totally unaware of his extracurricular activities which often keep him from showing up on time to their dates, or having to make awkward excuses for leaving. In the past, I thought that she always took these interruptions good naturedly, but recently, I've discovered that she really didn't take it so well. She constantly berates him for being late, accuses him of being lazy and having no ambition, and seems to make his life miserable. The only respite he seems to get is when he uses his Flash powers to impress her or poses as the Flash to make excuses for Barry to Iris.
In spite of all of this, they get married, Barry reveals himself to be the Flash, and their love shapes not just their lives, but the lives of many of the DC heroes. So what can we take away from this? What spiritual insight can we gleam from this? Probably none. But maybe that loving somebody means accepting all their faults, all of their failures, their weaknesses. That the quality of and the test of love isn't in moments of frustration, or of personal failure, but in the lasting effect it has on others, the people around you. If by exposure to that love, it makes other people's lives better, or makes them want to emulate or experience that love.
I think all of us can be like Iris and the Flash. Relationships are funny, the people we love the most can sometimes bother us the most. We can be ugly, mean and petty. But we can also be beautiful and loving. FYI, I'm more like the Flash.
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