Love

Okay, I hate February 14th.  I'll admit it.  I am to Valentine's Day what Scrooge is to Christmas.  I felt like saying "Bah Humbug" all day and closing and locking my door.  Maybe it's because this holiday has gotten so commercialized.  Maybe because it puts a lot of undue pressure on a lot of people to express their love even when they don't know the best way to do it.  Maybe because for people like me, without a significant other, it reminds us of how lonely we really are.  When all you hear about around you is how happy others are on this day, it really, really stabs you in the heart.  I couldn't even listen to the radio today without being reminded how blissfully happy others were.  Bah Humbug!!

However...  I do like that Valentine's Day suits to promote the most important human emotion that we possess, LOVE.

This Bible verse is often quoted and I really like it because defines the word love in a clear, concise and understandable way.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8


I have learned a lot about love this past year.  Although I have not been "in love", I have experienced love in many ways.  I have learned what it is and what it is not.  I learned that others may view love very differently than how I view it.  


To me, love is a feeling that follows as the result of actions.  You may have heard the old DC Talk song "Love is a verb".  I really enjoy that song, but I don't feel that it is entirely truthful.  Love is the emotion that results when someone performs an action that is selfless and it benefits you personally.  It also is the action that is performed because you feel that emotion.  So it's sort of like what came first, the chicken or the egg?  Do you show someone you love them because they showed that they loved you or do you feel love for someone and then follow it up with the actions?  When do you first know you love someone?  What does love look like?


I have a simple answer...  God!  It says in the Bible that "God is love"  He showed us that He loved us first.  He is the start of love.  He wants you to share the love He shows you to others.


I never really understood love until I first laid eyes on my son Joey when he was an infant.  The minute I first saw him look up at me, I instantly felt love.  I knew that I would die for this child if I was ever put in that position.  Instantly, I would show the actions to back up my feelings if I needed to.  That type of love can only come from God.  Joey had done nothing at that point other than look at me to earn my love.  God loves us the same way.  You can do nothing to earn His love for you.  He just LOVES you and he would die for you.  In fact, He did through His only son Jesus.


That my friends is the ultimate demonstration of love.  It is not what Hallmark wants you to believe it is which is buying of cards, candy and flowers.  It is not the necklace you can get at Jared.  It is the feeling that precedes the action, the action itself and the feelings that come after and it was demonstrated to us all by the creator of the universe through His son Jesus.

As I was getting ready for bed tonight, Joey came into my room.  I had a really, really rough day today as did he.  He crawled up on the bed tonight and said, "Mama, you are the love of my life.  Will you be my Valentine?"  I was already crying, but through tears I somehow choked out, "Absolutely."  He said, "Mama, I know today's Valentine's Day, but I wanted you to know that you are the love of my life everyday."  Melted my heart.  Of course, he then wanted to know if he could go get a heart shaped sugar cookie out of the kitchen.  How could I say "No" to that?  So he goes to the kitchen and then comes back with the sugar cookie and says "I love you so much.  Here's a piece of my heart" and proceeds to give me a piece of the sugar cookie.  It was tiny, but hey, it was a piece.

Someday he's going to be a phenomenal husband and father.  He already knows how to show love in a very real, practical way.  As his mom, my job is to protect his heart and to continue to shepherd it to bring out that love and help him control any hate or anger that may go into it.  We all feel those negative emotions, but love has to be the primary way we live our life.

Love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things, hopes all things.  Love never fails.