Love is....

As I was teaching the youth last Wednesday night, finishing up our study on worldviews, the topic for that particular chapter was love.
In preparing for the lesson, I was amazed by the realization of how freely we use that word. "I love your shoes." "I love your new haircut." "Don't you just love the new Rascal Flatts song - 'Love is Unstoppable'?" (pun intended) And, "I love sushi". I confess, I'm very guilty of that last one.
I was wondering, have we overused the word love in trite ways to the point in which it has lost the depth of its meaning?
Do we even know what real love is anymore? Here's the definition from the youth book.... Love is a deliberate decision to care for or about someone else. And if that's true, what does that look like in real life?
Sometimes love is easy....
Most moms find it easy to put their children's needs above their own, because they love their children and want the best for them.
Loving your best friend and the people who are loving to you is pretty easy also, most of the time.
But what about that family member that is so disagreeable? You know, the one who has purposed to make your life miserable?
What about the mother who deliberately chooses to carry an unborn child with known medical complications?
What about the homeless man, or the orphan, or our Nation?
Loving when it's easy just seems to happen naturally. Loving when it's hard is definitely a deliberate decision.
All I know is, it certainly has made me rethink my use of the word love when it comes to "things". It's a word to be cherished like a priceless heirloom rather than thrown around like a trinket from the dollar store.

I know the Bible has this to say about love....

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)

That means God deliberately chose to care for and about each person on this earth so much that He allowed His Son to endure the most cruel death imaginable for our benefit.

And, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 (NIV)

I'm blessed to have friends like that...friends that love me unconditionally whether I'm in a good mood, or a bad one. Friends that laugh with me and cry with me, but always stand beside me. Friends that, without question, would be here for me on a moment's notice. With that alone, I'm a wealthy person.
If you're one of those friends, I can't thank you enough! If you have a friend, or maybe even two, like that, you're a blessed person.
And, for the record, if I tell you I love you, it means I've deliberately chosen to care for and about you and I mean it with the utmost sincerity.

Confession Time

Okay, it's confession time. By choosing to publish my personal stories and musings to this blog, I feel a little like you're peeping in my windows. (I hope the house is in order and the furniture dusted.)You might as well just come on in and join me for coffee (yes, I can be a health nut and still drink coffee).
I should tell you, I tend to be self-conscious about my writing so my postings may not be daily. I'll try not to spend hours mulling over the wording for one post, so that I can post more frequently.
And, finally, I want my postings to be meaningful or helpful in some way. Everyone I know lives a busy life. So for you to be here, reading my blog, is humbling in a sense. I feel the weight of wanting to honor your time.
Nonetheless, I'm excited to start this new journey and see where it leads. Glad you're walking along side of me. Let me grab my coffee, and I'm ready to go!