Love is ... part 1

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." --Jessica - age 8

These past few weeks have been bumpy for me. I have had some uncluttering to do in my head and as I've worked to clear my mind I've had to step away from blogging. Pardon the absence. And, I'm glad to be back!

I found the above quote as I looked for something to describe the way God loves us and how we can show that same love to others. There were loads of romanticized quotes on love; cynical quotes on love; judgmental & opinionated quotes & silly quotes on love. But, from the thoughts of a child I saw a purity on the thought of what love truly is.

It seems to me that love is about relationship. Sometimes it is a family relationship, the love between a parent and child - regardless of either ones age. Sometimes we see love in the acts of sacrifice by soldiers and their families - a patriotic love, a love of their country and way of life. Sometimes we see love grown out of a common bond between people who have a shared tragedy in their lives - the death of a child or the devastation of a hurricane. But it seems to me, love is about a relationship that is built between people.

That is why I like what Jessica said about love. Relationships are fragile and easy to hurt, harm or break. So we shouldn't say "I love you" unless we mean it from somewhere in our common bond of life. And if we mean it, we really should say it often so we can strengthen those bonds and build each other up and enrich our relationships.

May you know love ...