Love - Part 1
Aaah, amore`. I don't think that's right, but you know what I mean. Love.
After my recent deliberations about the difference between who I am and how much I love my husband, which some took to mean I was deliberating on his shortcomings - guess I shouldn't have used him as an example too - oops! haha! - I spent some time thinking about that word - love.
I high school, I was inspired to define love for myself - something I think every teenager should nail down BEFORE she begins dating, looking for a mate, etc. I defined it, wrote it down, and never wavered from that definintion. As a matter of fact, my husband was the first man I said "I love you" to, and soon after I did for the first time, I told him what I meant by that.
This week, I defined love again. No, I did not redefine it. I still stand by my original definition. But I added to it. You know how you see in the dictionary - Love - luv: n. 1) blah, blah, blah 2) blah, blah, blah. That is what my deifintion of love looks like now. And that's a good thing. As we grow and mature, we learn new angles, we change our minds, we add. I like to think I am maturing (although I know several people who would disagree with that concept) and I'll take this new defintion as evidence that I am.
So, what is your definition of love? Do you use it every day, weekly or only on special occasions? Do you know what your husband's definition of love is? Can you share that?
After my recent deliberations about the difference between who I am and how much I love my husband, which some took to mean I was deliberating on his shortcomings - guess I shouldn't have used him as an example too - oops! haha! - I spent some time thinking about that word - love.
I high school, I was inspired to define love for myself - something I think every teenager should nail down BEFORE she begins dating, looking for a mate, etc. I defined it, wrote it down, and never wavered from that definintion. As a matter of fact, my husband was the first man I said "I love you" to, and soon after I did for the first time, I told him what I meant by that.
This week, I defined love again. No, I did not redefine it. I still stand by my original definition. But I added to it. You know how you see in the dictionary - Love - luv: n. 1) blah, blah, blah 2) blah, blah, blah. That is what my deifintion of love looks like now. And that's a good thing. As we grow and mature, we learn new angles, we change our minds, we add. I like to think I am maturing (although I know several people who would disagree with that concept) and I'll take this new defintion as evidence that I am.
So, what is your definition of love? Do you use it every day, weekly or only on special occasions? Do you know what your husband's definition of love is? Can you share that?
posted by Harleys @ 2:51 PM
3 Comments:
At 5:35 PM,
Rabbity-Sniff said…
I came up with my definition of love in college. Although it brought tears to my eyes, I didn't take the time to write it down for some reason. Now it is just a concept. I could think that concept through and try to write it out again. But it was something like one or two sentences in college - real to-the-point, you know? Anyway, it went something like this: Love is doing everything within your power to protect another human being from harm, to make that human being happy, and to always do what is best for that human being (even though it might make that human being sad or even hate you for a while). Love is a committment to someone else's well-being and happiness but not in disregard to right and wrong. It includes spiritual growth and maturity of character which can be painful but not any less loving. I picture it as total and complete surrender of one's self to uphold the committment of love; and usually the loved doesn't understand or even fathom the depth of that love until a defining and usually costly moment in life. To love is Christ's highest calling to His children. We learn by His example and usually do not realize the depth or cost of His love until a most humbling and defining moment in our life.
I don't know what my husband's definition of love is but you've inspired me to ask. It should be an interesting discussion. I know his love language is different than mine.
At 10:21 AM,
Katrina said…
Good post, Debbi, and good question. Bearsie, I like what you said, too. Real love is so different from the unreliable set of physical sensations and emotions the world has hijacked the word to describe.
I hope you don't think I'm wimping out on answering the question by saying that I just don't think it gets any clearer than I Corinthians 13. I like that passage so much that I used it as a guide when my husband and I rewrote our vows and renewed our covenant with each other on our sixth anniversary. I really believe that the closer we get to God, the more we understand the true nature of love. It has none of self in it, only the heart, mind, and soul of the beloved. (It feels so good to know that I am loved like that, even if I can only love imperfectly.)
At 1:21 PM,
Jennifer said…
Ok, so I guess I'll wimp out further to say that both Bearsie & Katrina said what I would have said! I believe that love has allot of different forms and sensations attached to it, but it's definitely not what MOST of the world would have you believe it is! And, I think that the love I have for my hubby is different from the love I have for my children because the love for hubby is a choice I make on a daily basis - to love him in spite of himself, or myself! The love for my kiddos is inate - I can't help but love them because of what I went through to bring them into this world! But, the love that Christ has for us is so much deeper than any earthly form of love - it's incomprehensible to my mind!
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