L.O.V.E.

Love is a masterpiece. It can take the form of a noun, a verb, an adjective, an adverb. While possibly used a million times in one’s life, no one person could ever understand all that it entails. I’m definitely no expert, but I do know a thing or two about what love is not. Ironically, knowing what something isn’t can help you better understand what it is. 

LIGHT

Love is the light that fills the spaces in our hearts and lives, helping illuminate the darkness within, allowing us to take note and disperse the gloom which resides. Love reaches where no other action or feeling can penetrate. It is something to fight with. In the recently released movie Patriot’s Day, capturing events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, Officer Saunders explains, “When the devil hits you like that the only way to fight back is with love…That’s the only thing he won’t touch.” Light from the stars and moon is the only thing strong enough to break through the blackness of the night. We all have dark days, months, or even years. Love can illuminate these dark times, even for just one night. Love is powerful.

OUTWARD

Love is another word for selfless; it’s an act of giving and of stepping outside the comforts that limit our minds to be consumed with only ourselves. It is found inside each of us, always at our command but never our disposal. Because when you harness love, there is always a recipient–present or not.

My mom has been my prime example of loving outwardly. She worked crazy hours to support me and my three brothers growing up, but she was pretty thinly stretched emotionally. Still, what she had to give she did. As I grew older I’ve appreciated the sacrifices she made in her own life to try and make ours a little better. Love is selfless.

VERSATILE

Love is ever changing. No one person stays the same throughout life, and nor should our love for them. It is best received when adapted to an ever changing relationship, person, or circumstance. The basis of love is always there in our hearts, but it can move, grow, and shrink to match the deepest thoughts of our minds deriving from experience and knowledge.

“It’s crazy how my love for you grows every day” are words my best friend has told me multiple times. I think sometimes we forget that love must constantly fluctuate. Without the prompting of change, love remains hidden. Love is evolving.

EVER UNFEIGNED 

Love can be faked but in that instance, is it truly love? In the KJV of the Bible, Romans 12:9 admonishes us to “Let love be without dissimulation.”  Let it be true and unconditional. I have always had a hard time saying “I love you.” For me, love and trust go hand in hand. Sometimes I’m too afraid of how my love will be accepted. Can I trust them to take something so dear to me and protect it? It’s important to stop and remind ourselves that life isn’t about what we gain, but what we give. Such is the case with love.

Christ loved all: the kind, the sinner, the sad, the elderly, the humble. So should we. Not entirely because he did, but because we can. Christ had emotions and a body to show them with while on the earth. So do we; we all have that potential to love openly and genuinely. Love is pure, genuine, and honest in its truest form. Isn’t this what natural beauty is comprised of? Those who are filled with charity–that pure love of Christ–always shine brighter. Love illuminates our souls and the lives of others when it is powerful, selfless, evolving, and truly charitable. Love is beautiful.