This is Love

1 Corinthians 13:13  "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love."

The Bible speaks of love in many places.  It is just that important.  When questioned what the greatest commandment was, Jesus answered, First, love God with all your heart, your soul, your mind.  Second, love your neighbor as yourself.  

Sounds simple enough except for one small thing...

What exactly is love?

I say I love dark chocolate, red wine, and pizza. I love potato chips with onion dip, sleeping in, and watching old movies.  I love autumn, walks in the mountains, and happy hour with friends.

But, I also love my husband, my daughter, and my son-in-law.  I love my parents, siblings and in-laws.  I love my extended family, friends and family who are no longer with us, and I loved my dearly departed dog.  I love my old friends, my new friends, and friends I have yet to meet.

I love the way my heart still races after all these years when my husband walks into the room.  I love the silly texts he sends me and the silly songs he sings.  I love making food I know he and others will enjoy.  I love making people feel welcome when they come to visit.  I love spending time with others.

I love God.

I love many people, places and things in different and unique ways.  So, how is it that one word can describe so many types of feelings?

Is it love...or something else?

We tend to use love and like interchangeably when it comes to inanimate objects, enjoyable tasks and other intangibles. Instead of saying, I really, really like something, or, I really, really enjoy something, or I really, really admire something, we say we love it.  Sometimes, love is just a more emphatic way of expressing our opinion. 

But what about love as it relates to other living beings...specifically people?  (Please don't lecture me about your pets.  I loved my dog, too.  But for the purpose of this narrative, I am going to put them in a separate category.  Okay?)

When it comes to people, we are very cautious about expressing love.  We treat it like a precious commodity that we should only dole out in small quantities.  We tend to express our love only when we are confident the love will be reciprocated.

But, isn't that contrary to what Jesus taught us in the Bible?  To love our neighbor as ourselves?  He didn't say love your neighbor only if you expect something in return...

Do you see the love?

A short time ago a friend of mine was hospitalized because she had several small strokes due to a sudden spike in her blood pressure.  As a result of the strokes, she is having to deal with the loss of her peripheral vision, a constant shadow that hangs over what she can see, and short term memory issues.  Doctors were trying to figure out the cause, but may never know.  She spent nearly a week in the hospital, dealing with the aftermath of the strokes.  

Her husband never left her side during this entire ordeal.

He spent every night sleeping on an uncomfortable futon in her hospital room so she wouldn't be alone.  He didn't leave the room unless there was a visitor to keep her company.  He was there to interpret what the doctors said, provide emotional support, and make her laugh in the face of terror.

This is love.

She wants to protect her husband by staying strong.  She tries not to breakdown in his presence - keeping some of the bad news moments private until she is convinced he can accept the loss.  She encourages him to leave her side for a few hours to spend time with friends.  She wants him to also feel the support of their community and the comfort of a good laugh and a beer.

This is love.

Friends came to the hospital daily to visit, crack jokes, play music and just sit.  When she was finally released from the hospital and sent home, family and friends rallied around.  They brought meals, took her to appointments, sat and talked.  They encouraged her and her husband by pointing out the small victories.  They sympathized when she expressed frustration at the hand she was dealt.  They invite her to join them in every day activities that used to be so normal and easy...but are now challenging and scary.

This is love.

Love is all around...we just need to be open to giving and accepting it.

Offering our love is not always easy.  Sometimes it is pushed away.  Sometimes it feels trivial.  Sometimes it is just hard to keep going in the face of struggle.

Accepting love is not always easy, either.  Sometimes we don't feel worthy of the love.  Sometimes we are too angry or hurt to realize we need love.  Sometimes we are wearing blinders and miss the love being offered.

Where ever we are in the cycle of life...love can be our constant.  We just need to learn to accept love, to give love and, as Someone wiser than me said, love our neighbors as ourselves.