I think there are many different kinds of love. There's the romantic kind of love, there's the love you have for your siblings, there's the love parents have for their children, the love that children have for their parents, there's the love that I have for those sweet boys I nannied, there's the love that you have for a cute little animal... yes gentle readers, I believe I could go on and on about the different kinds of love. You can love people, things, places, and you can love someone without loving what they do... all of them are different.
I think the most important love on this world is the Love we get from our Heavenly Father, and the most amazing thing about it? We can't even comprehend it! His love for us is so incredibly great that we can't even begin to understand a portion of that kind of love.
But there is the love that we do understand, and that's the human kind.
On the one hand, I think all these different kinds of love are so diverse and different that they all deserve different definitions, but on the other hand, I think love can be summed up in a few sentences. So maybe love can be defined in just a few sentences, but each kind of love can just be even more deeply defined the further you get into it.
I think the basic definition of love is truly hoping the best for someone, and selflessly doing all you can to help make that happen.
From a parent's perspective, I think they want more than anything for their children to lead happy, healthy, faithful lives. They don't want to see their children hurting or making wrong decisions. Just wanting your child to be happy doesn't mean giving them everything they want, because that won't make them happy in the long run. Parents teach their kids to work, to finish things on time, reprimand them when they misbehave... ever notice how all these things seem to bother kids when they're young, and then they're thanking their parents once they've grown up and had to face the real world?
From a child's perspective, when we're young we love our parents because they're our life support. They exist to serve us. Mom makes us food, dad gives us his silver and brown monies, you get my drift. And then as we age reality sets in and we discover that mom and dad actually had lives before they had us, and they still have lives that may or may not involve us! And then we grow up and we love mom and dad because we realize just how much they taught us and how much they really love us.
I think being in love is a pretty complex kind of love. You feel happy when that person is around. You may feel tongue tied, or your heart just jumps whenever you hear their voice. That euphoric kind of love. Deeper than that, however, I think being in love is the most selfless act. You care about this person more than you care about yourself. You want nothing more for them than to make them happy. You trust them, and trust that they trust you. The interesting thing about this love? It only works when both people feel the same way. Have you ever heard people say that relationships and marriage are 50/50 deals? I have news for you: it's a lie. It's anything but a 50/50 deal! It's a 100/100 deal - both have to give and expect nothing in return, and then, both will give and receive everything.
I think all these kinds of love are portions of what the Lord feels for us, and if we don't involve him in our lives and in our loves, I don't think we would be capable of love at all.
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