"Defining Love: What is Love" by K - 5.22.17

Entry Submitted by K at 2:03 AM EDT on May 22, 2017

There are so many phrases that people use or say to describe love, and those phrases might be examples of what many people felt about the love they are familiar with. I think love is different for each person, depending on the degree or depth of love (or the degree of a reaction felt within the heart) and the words used to describe the experience of love (the thoughts of the mind). the love between a mother and her child: I can remember when the judge declared my divorce final there was peace, BUT when the judge stated that the state of Florida would now rule about who would have custody of the children; I immediately felt a knife in my chest and a fear so consuming that I felt paralyzed though I wanted to rush home, pick up my babies and flee with them as far as I needed to go. I would have gone to the ends of the Earth. The experience took my breath away ant then the judge stated that the state of Florida had granted custody to the mother. Love is binding, there is no separation, it is forever unconditional. The love of a child to its mother: In 1950 as an infant I was adopted. I was told stories about my mother and even told that her clothing was found by the river in Philadelphia. As I grew, I continually wondered who she was, what she looked like and if she was alive. I used to sing little songs about my relationship with her. I gazed out vehicle windows to look for her whenever driven through the Philadelphia area. In 2004 I met my 4 sisters and was also given photos of my mother who had expressed a very deep love for me. It was my father who had abandoned me. To my shock, I had been looking at her in the mirror my whole life. I finally felt whole, no longer frayed, I felt stronger and more significant in who I was meant to be. Love gives the gift of wholeness and identity. The love of a husband and wife: Married for 16 years, I had survived through many painful events that the years have managed to heal. A final blow, so to speak caused me to consider the welfare of my children and I decided that we needed to be on our own. Eventually, that led to a divorce. The divorce experience is terrifying. Even though there were circumstances that caused the marriage to end, I experienced great pain. I found that divorce isn't just the end of a legal marital contract, but it is the breaking of the heart. The joining of hearts in marriage causes a spiritual, blessed by God bond that combines two hearts into one. When a divorce takes place, each person suffers the loss of half their heart. I moved on after my divorce feeling that I was safe, but also thatI was mourning having experienced a great loss. Again, time does heal, but the painful has been reminding me that marriage if the love of a lifetime that changes two people into one. Love is shared and love is living with the other person's best interest as a priority. Love is sacrificial, and love is not selfish or self-centered. Love is honesty and love is kind. When each of us looks at others, their actions, and relationships it is a blessing to visibly recognize love, but we are grieved to notice where love is not a reality. May those reading this understand that love needs to be guarded, cultivated, enjoyed and given freely without return. Love is a responsibility and opportunity of giving, not to be purchased or to be taken. K