With Valentine's Day approaching the word love or references to love are everywhere. The thing is, love involves relationships, and relationships involve people, so it's not always a rosy picture.
Relationships are difficult because people are difficult. We all have the capacity to hurt those around us, particularly those we care about the most.
So, if love is only a feeling, and that is exactly how it is most often portrayed, we are all in a heap of trouble my friends! Feelings are fleeting, especially when someone you care about hurts you deeply.
So, love cannot possibly be just a feeling.
The following poem was written as I was wrestling with my own understanding of what love really is. May you love and be loved truly. It is a treasure, a most precious gift that is like nothing else this world has to offer!
By Kelly Neff: August, 2017
My heart aches like never before
I am numb inside, shaken to the core
I am grieved by humankind
For even the most faithful friend you can find
May let you down and deeply hurt you
Even though you hope it's not true, reality rushes deep inside you
Your mind and body grow weak with fear
While words you hoped never to hear
Wash over you in waves of searing pain
Your life will undoubtedly be changed
When a heart is broken it is hard to mend
Thank the Lord he is faithful to send
A Savior who has the power to save and to heal
If you choose to let Him, He will change how you feel
It is a difficult road to repair what is broken
Lies must be replaced with truths that are spoken
It is difficult for both, but we must choose to believe
God's promise to restore, if we trust and receive
His mercy and grace will never run out
Be strong and courageous when your mind fills with doubt
Love is patient, love is kind, no greater gift will you ever find
It does not envy, it does not boast
It seeks to honor the other most
It is not proud and does not disgrace
It seeks to bring you to a better place
It is not selfish or angered easily, it is not concerned with who’s wrong or who’s right
It rejoices with the truth, but in evil, it takes no delight
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres
It overcomes even the greatest fears
Through life's greatest storms, if we choose to trust Him, He will prevail!
Thank God, thank God, love never fails!
~Blessing Friends!
1 Corinthians 13:1-13