love?

What is love?

Is it a feeling?

An emotion?

Passion?

Attachment?

Affection?

Is it even something that can be defined?

I'm not sure I can describe love, I mean I use the word every day. I say "I love you" on a regular basis. I love my parents. I love my siblings. I love my husband. I love my children. I love my Jesus.

But the love I "feel" for the people in my life is as different as the relationships I have with them.

I admire my mom and I'm grateful for the influence she has on my life and the example she has set for me as a Godly woman. I enjoy spending time with her and learning from her.

My little sister is my best friend (other than my husband.) I feel a fierce protectiveness over her. There's a comfortableness between us that can't be replicated. We read each other so well, sometimes we don't even have to speak.

The passion I have for my husband is unlike anything I ever anticipated. After nearly 2 years of marriage, I still get butterflies when he looks at me a certain way. I feel protected by him, safe and taken care of. I have never felt so secure in a relationship in my life. He is truly my other half.

I was totally unprepared for the emotions that flooded my being the first time I held my oldest...and then the next three. I would do anything for them. I can't imagine my life without them. He is a part of me and I have such joy every time I see them smile and my heart breaks in two when I hear them cry. They each have a hold on my very being.

I'm grateful to my Savior. He's loved me longer and better than I've ever loved him. Without Him, I am nothing.

My prayer is that I learn to operate in perfect love in every way, because without love, I am nothing.

So, what is love?

I don't know if I will ever have an answer, but it becomes more complete every day. Until then, this is what I know:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13 4-8a 

Heavenly Father,

Teach me to love with your love. Show me how to be the wife and mother I am called to be. Use me to love the unlovable and love those who have done me wrong. Let Your love shine through me.