"Love"

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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."
-- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

I'm assuming that most people who have ever been in love have asked themselves the question... what is love? Or at the very least, what does it mean to love someone? I know this thought is always crossing my mind. The answer that comes to mind first is from Corinthians. Love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud. Doesn't keep a tally of wrongs, does not like evil and likes truth. It protects, hopes, perseveres. 

I mean, that's a lot of stuff. 

Love is patient.

I'm not always very good at this. Actually, I'm always not very good at this. This one is the one I'm working on at the moment. The love of my life is excellent at patience, and I should follow in his footsteps in many ways... especially in this one. I wondered today if this could be rephrased as "love is patience"... because that changes it a little bit. If love is patience, when you are patient with someone, you are loving them. Again, this is something in my life that needs major work.

Love is kind.

Love is kind. So simple, right? Love is gentle, considerate, helpful. Love is never cruel. Does this mean that love doesn't fight dirty? Love doesn't pick out the insecurities of someone else and use them for her benefit? Love is nice. 

 

Love does not envy, does not boast, is not proud. 

Love is humble, modest, and charitable. Love doesn't need to bring others down. Love is happy to let others have their moment in the sun. Love is never jealous, but is happy for others. Love doesn't want what others have. What does this mean in a relationship? For me, this means that I should not envy what someone else has (or had)... I shouldn't want something I don't have. But most importantly, I should realize that I have always had everything I want and need all along! 

Love is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love is not rude...love isn't nasty. LOVE ISN'T SELFISH. Love doesn't have a bad temper.... love is not quick to jump to conclusions, or quick to judge, or quick to anger. Love doesn't keep a scorecard of rights and wrongs... love forgives. Love wants what's best for the other... love doesn't hold grudges. Love doesn't want to hurt someone else, but to lift them up. Love wants the best for its partner even if that's not what's best for herself! Always!

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Love would never want bad to happen to the other... love is always honest. Love wants good and truth to govern and can be sympathetic, kind, and genuine. (This couples nicely with forgiveness, no?)

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love looks out for the interests of the other... love isn't interested in letting the other fall on his face. Love believes in her partner, love knows that the future is bright. Love hopes for the best and believes always. Love gives her partner the benefit of the doubt. Love works for a solution and will not walk away. Love never gives up. 

The love of my life is very, very good at all of the above. I am still working on these. I think with age comes the wisdom of knowing that selflessness is the key to love. Putting someone else first takes practice, wisdom, patience... and humility. Humility, oh the humility. Another thing that takes practice, and comes from experience is the ability to learn from our mistakes and move forward with lessons learned instead of allowing ourselves to be held back by pain, hurt, and regret. When we've mastered love, we've mastered life... and nothing can keep us down! Only... each of us needs a partner that's willing to forgive our mistakes when we let our selfishness interfere, and can lovingly show us the right way to love one another. 

It promises to be an interesting journey!

 

Beginning a Blog

I've officially jumped on the bandwagon, so here I am on a Sunday morning trying to get all of this stuff down on paper so I can be like the cool kids that religiously blog. ;)

Is there some sort of rule that I have to start my blog with some sort of blurb about who I am? Or are you, my loyal reader, supposed to discover that as you read my posts? I'm leaning towards the latter... but I'll give you something to work with.


I believe everything happens for a reason. 

I believe that love never fails. 

I believe that anything is possible with hard work and determination.

I think that family is the most important thing in life. 

I believe that a love for others should drive the actions of all people, and that "knowing yourself" is a tool for knowing how you can best serve others and not an end in itself.

Those are the things that I believe, deep in the core of my being. That's what drives me. I suppose that is a good beginning for a blog-- the principles I work with.

More later! It's 9am on a Sunday morning, and everyone is in bed. I think I should rejoin them for another hour!