Thanks...or no thanks....to both Hollywood AND the church, I think that people have a skewed idea of what love really looks like. Yes, you heard me...AND the church. Love in Hollywood is free and light and full of sex and really has no meaning. Love in the church (marital kind of love) is totally self sacrificing and without boundaries. No. Not all Hollywood movies portray love in the fast and loose fashion. No. Not all churches portray love as commitment without boundaries. Yet....it's so prevalent. And for women, I think that it messes with our hearts and minds. Wanting to feel the sexy, amazing freedom. Wanting to be the committed, be there through anything. We want to do it all right. I want to do it all right. Which is good. If I have the correct view of what love looks like.
Love is not simply sex. Nor is it based only on hormones and what feels good. It is also not simply commitment to stick with it no matter what. Love IS sacrifice. It is giving. It does show compassion. But, it does not allow, condone nor encourage the one who is loved to abuse the lover. In any way. Love has boundaries. God has boundaries. And...God is love. He said so. And He puts boundaries in place to protect our bodies, minds and hearts. He knows that we are not like Him. We don't understand everything. Yet, we are like Him in our ability to love and to desire love.
Love looks strong. One who loves doesn't do it just out of need. And doesn't do it because they owe it. They love with purpose. With kindness. With their minds AND hearts. And love does question. It does evaluate. And sometimes, the most loving answer is no. Sometimes love looks like walking away. Or allowing consequences to occur. Or exiting a scenario where someone is hurting us because actually, it is hurting them to be that way as well. It's saying that a behavior has been too much for too long. Love stands up. Stands firm.
Love looks like truth, happiness, pain and joy all wrapped up. It looks like those in the world who are brave enough, strong enough.....to say "I will go no further." And it also looks like those who walk together forever. It's beautiful. It's never forced. But it is a force.
It has taken me a long time to realize that love photographs much differently than I was lead to believe. And that sometimes the most loving, most kind thing to say is "no. it's too much. it's too bad. it's not ok."
Sometimes, love does the hardest things.
grace to you.
Love is not simply sex. Nor is it based only on hormones and what feels good. It is also not simply commitment to stick with it no matter what. Love IS sacrifice. It is giving. It does show compassion. But, it does not allow, condone nor encourage the one who is loved to abuse the lover. In any way. Love has boundaries. God has boundaries. And...God is love. He said so. And He puts boundaries in place to protect our bodies, minds and hearts. He knows that we are not like Him. We don't understand everything. Yet, we are like Him in our ability to love and to desire love.
Love looks strong. One who loves doesn't do it just out of need. And doesn't do it because they owe it. They love with purpose. With kindness. With their minds AND hearts. And love does question. It does evaluate. And sometimes, the most loving answer is no. Sometimes love looks like walking away. Or allowing consequences to occur. Or exiting a scenario where someone is hurting us because actually, it is hurting them to be that way as well. It's saying that a behavior has been too much for too long. Love stands up. Stands firm.
Love looks like truth, happiness, pain and joy all wrapped up. It looks like those in the world who are brave enough, strong enough.....to say "I will go no further." And it also looks like those who walk together forever. It's beautiful. It's never forced. But it is a force.
It has taken me a long time to realize that love photographs much differently than I was lead to believe. And that sometimes the most loving, most kind thing to say is "no. it's too much. it's too bad. it's not ok."
Sometimes, love does the hardest things.
grace to you.
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