Love

Love is a funny thing. We are such weirdos when it come to the word "love." We 'love' pizza (ok, I don't, I could go the rest of my life without ever eating pizza again and I'd be fine...but you, you love pizza) we 'love' that book, or tv show, movie, song, etc. We are 'in love' with the latest OPI nail color, new car, pasta in cream sauce we're using our "cheat meal" on. 

We throw it around so casually but when it comes time to express love as an actual feeling/emotion towards another human...it suddenly carries a lot more weight...well, sometimes.  

Some people use the word to get what they want...think after-school specials.  Others truly think they mean it but it flows so easily and freely from their mouths that it's really hard to believe. You know the friend who meets someone new and two dates later is declaring they're in love and going to marry this person...I mean, really? Two dates? Gimme a break. And yet others still, hold onto the word like its the most sacred and precious thing they have, hardly ever letting it slip through their lips.

Where do I fall? Well, I do love ice cream. Hot fudge too. I love me some freshly polished toes, and a warm summer day. I love about every third song that comes on the radio, and don't even get me started on how in love I am with Target, yoga pants and bacon...I mean, really, we'd be here for days! But when it come to expressing love to another human, I'm much more reserved. I grew up in a house where getting and giving hugs and exchanging I love you's was commonplace. As I've gotten older, and perhaps wiser, I've learned that my love isn't something that everyone deserves...

Ok, lets talk about this a minute...All people are deserving of love, each and every soul that ever existed deserves love. And I can say this because God SO LOVED US (each and every one) that He gave His only Son. So in the greater sense of the word, yes, all people are deserving of my love, but the kind of love I'm talking about is a package deal with my heart...and not everyone is deserving of that. It's taken me a long time to realize that, but those are just the facts. 

Now that we've got that squared away, let's carry on...

Not everyone is deserving of my love. My heart is incredibly tender and not many people earn the right to have open access to it. And to me, that's what love is...when you are completely and fully yourself with someone, warts and all, as Mama Cindy would say. When you no longer have to think about their motives, intentions or agendas because you know that they're looking out for you too. Love means knowing you can do life without them but not wanting to. Knowing that there are no conditions on which their affections rest.

Sometimes saying it comes easy. Sometimes it doesn't. Some say actions speak louder than words but my Pastor says "actions speak louder WITH words" and I think that's true. Still, though, sometimes it doesn't need to be said...it's just known.