'I Love You'

Sounds simple enough, right? I. Love. You. Only three words, yet they have THE most powerful affect on people in good or bad ways. I had been planning on writing something about love, but now as I sit here trying to put it into words, I'm not sure that I can. Love isn't necessarily something you can explain; it's something you experience. And lately, I've been wondering...Do I honestly know how to love? I say I love you all the time to family and friends, but sometimes I wonder if I've had the actions to back up those words. Do I show them just how much I love them? Did I really feel anything in my heart when I uttered those three words out or was I just saying it to fill the silence?

What is love? Well, 1 Corinthians 13 is the definition of that. When I really meditate on the chapter, I think of how wrong I've been about not only loving others but also when it comes to falling in love. Last night, at our Young Adults group gathering at church we talked about this very thing. So many times in our world today we get confused about what love is because of the way it's portrayed in music and movies. We think it's all about buying the material things to express how we feel, and that couldn't be further from the truth. It is in the way we treat people! We have to know how God loves and learn how to love ourselves, before we can fully love others. If we don't love ourselves or see ourselves as something special, that's exactly the way we'll treat others. I know that's how I've been for a really long time!

Love is not a feeling, it is a choice. If we based love on feelings, the divorce rate would be even higher than it already is. There are always days when we don't "feel" like doing something or loving someone...our emotions run so hot and cold, so when you base love on that it's pretty fickle. You have to choose to love them despite whatever annoying thing they might be doing to you or the arguments you might have had. That comes into practice even more when it comes to dealing with difficult people. You know those family members that you usually just see on special occasions or that you just don't get along with. It's not an easy thing to do, and it takes time. 

The highest form of love we will ever know, though, is the love that God has shown us. Human love only goes so deep, but there's a place in our heart that only God can fill. People will disappoint us, no matter how close we are or how much they love us. We're human; we're not perfect and we make mistakes. We break promises, we fall short of who people want us to be, and we get angry over stupid things. But, no matter what we go through in life, or the people we fight with...Love conquers all. I truly believe that!

Another thought, that I had posted of a friends comment on Facebook last night was something like, "If you can't live without that person (significant other), leave them in the dust. If you CAN live without them, marry them..." At first I was wondering how in the world that made sense, and then it clicked as I read it through a couple more times. Christ is the only one we need or desire, technically, we can live without people. When you're married, Christ should still always be your number one; the second you let your spouse on the throne where God should be is when we run into problems. And now it has put things into perspective for me in future relationships :)

That's all for now,

Shelby

xoxox