I said I was going to do a series on what love looks like during this month of love. I think the month of February triggers thoughts of Valentine’s Day for many people. And justifiably so. For your reading enjoyment, here is a link to 10 Fun Valentine’s Day Facts.
I used a popular internet search engine and searched “definition of love.” I received “About 382,000,000 results (0.51 seconds).” I checked them all. Not really.
But I did randomly check several. It seems there are almost as many websites defining love as…well, I was going to say as Imedla Marcos had pairs of shoes. But, it turns out she only 1000 pair…or 7500. Estimates vary.
Seriously. We can define love a number of ways…or maybe we cannot define love at all. Maybe it is something that falls under the “I know it when I see it, but I can’t describe or define it” type of thing.
Love may not always look like a card with a big heart on it or a present with a nice red bow on it.
There have been times in my life when love looked like a washed and vacuumed out car…that someone else took care of – without me asking. Sometimes it has been a phone call on June 9th, which is Amy’s birthday. Or sitting by my hospital bed. Or making me laugh when I am sad. Or letting me be alone when that is what I need. For me, love does not always look like I think it will or like I think it should.
Love may look like this…a perfectly clean kitchen on a random Monday morning.
And I hadn’t cleaned it. I’d had a headache the day before and I had struggled to do much more than go to church and eat a little bit of lunch. I’d napped and rested, but I had NOT cleaned the kitchen. I didn’t give it a thought until Monday morning when I walked down the stairs and saw it. I don’t think there was any gift I would rather have had that day than a clean kitchen.
This month I, along with some guest writers, will explore what love looks like. It might look like saying no. Or maybe it looks like a day of rest. Or following your dream or letting go of a dream. Or letting go of something else. Or maybe it looks like helping a stranger. Love may, on some days, look like a box of chocolates, but I find that more often than not it looks like something that is not as neat as a box of chocolates.
Stayed tuned and read the rest of the series this month.
Questions for you…
- What does love look like to you?
- Can you define it or is it more of an “I know it when I see it” type of thing?
- If you could have one aspect of love explored this month, what would it be? I am not promising that I can make it happen, but I am curious.
I’m looking forward to this series Mary. For me right now, love looks like staying committed through trial. We may not like each other at times, but love goes so much deeper.
Barbie, you have endured A LOT in the last few years. I love that you say love go so much deeper…it is not a superficial thing!
I got love yesterday with a washed car! Much appreciated. 🙂 Yes, love does look differently to different people, and even the same people in different seasons.
I have a friend who either sends a card or hand-delivers a card on Kali’s birthday each year so I totally get what you’re saying about friends who remember Amy’s birthday on June 9. That’s a special category of love! Blessings to you, friend.
Oh, Lisa…I know you get the remembering Amy’s birthday thought!! And a clean car??? YES!!
Lately love feels like empathy and connection to me..feeling seen in the deep-down ways instead of superficial understanding or quitting when it’s too hard to do the work of seeing. Beautiful series to explore..xo
“too hard to do the work of seeing…” Oh, my friend, it IS often hard to do that work. So delighted to see you here. Thank you for stopping by.