Love is More Than a Feeling: A Lesson Learned

LOVE IS MORE THAN A FEELING

This was originally written back in October of 2014 and shared on my former blog. As I was reading over it today, I reflected again on the truth that love is more than a feeling. Enjoy this slightly edited version.

There are so many definitions of love these days. What is love really? Is it just a feeling? Is it an action? Can it be one without the other?

 

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends…

1 Corinthians 4: 4-8a

 

My original plan for this post was to have a picture with I Corinthians 13:4-8a printed on it, because it gives us answers as to what love really is. That was all I was going to do so I thought I would be finished shortly. But that was not to be.

 

LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION

I began looking for a picture to use but was having trouble finding one. When I finally found what I thought would work I had trouble with the program I normally use to add text to a picture. I knew I would need help from my son, but he wouldn’t be home until early evening.

So, I abandoned the picture idea for the time being and tried to write something about love that would go along with the I Corinthians passage. But it seemed like every time I started to write I would hit a wall. The inspiration was just not there. I began to get more frustrated and couldn’t keep my concentration. Add to that the fact that I was being interrupted every few minutes. After spending a lot more time on it and getting nowhere I decided to break for lunch.

 

Here’s a poem I wrote years ago to explain how inspiration can be elusive. Sometimes inspiration just isn’t there, but sometimes God wants to take us on a journey to find it. That’s what happened to me that day when I wanted to write about love.

 

INSPIRATION

Inspiration
An elusive butterfly

Suddenly it comes
You have a thought
You sit down ready to write.
Full of expectancy
You pick up your pen

AND STARE AT A BLANK PAGE

Inspiration
That elusive butterfly

Suddenly it is gone
What has happened?
You reach down deep
Into your very soul
But without success.

AND STARE AT A BLANK PAGE

Inspiration
Mysterious, elusive butterfly

Full of determination
You pick up your pen again
And put it to the paper.
You begin to write
whatever comes to mind.

Inspiration
The elusive butterfly

Can't stay away this time
You hear a flutter
And there she is
You have lured her back
Because you didn't give up.
~gsw~

 

What I thought would be finished in a short time was not even getting off the ground. What was wrong?

 

LOVE IS MORE THAN A FEELING

I began chatting online with one of my daughters telling her about having ideas and none of them seemingly right for the post. She came back with this question, “Do you believe in scarcity?”

I quickly wrote back, “No, I don’t. So why am I acting like I do?” Then I said, “Every time I start to write something I get called by somebody. I was writing about love and I think God is giving me some firsthand lessons.”

She responded with, “Haha, like love is patient?”  Well, I knew she was right, and I had been patient most of the time, but not all.

 

THIS IS WHAT LOVE IS

Later I took a walk with another daughter and her children. It turned out to be just the thing I needed. When her boys got tired she took them back home, but my granddaughter and I walked further, looking for little treasures.

She found tiny flowers of yellow and purple, leaves of different colors and marveled at it all. We had a great time just enjoying the time together and being in awe of God’s creation.

   

As we walked back home I was thinking to myself that this is what love is – these special times together.

 

Even the interruptions I had throughout that day were indications of love in action. When we got back into the house, she was so excited to spread out her treasures on the table for all to see.

 

LOVE IS MORE THAN A FEELING: LESSON LEARNED

I decided to try again with the blog post, but I still got more interruptions and then it was time to make supper. By this time, I was getting very tired and wondered if I’d even get the post done that day, but God had one more thing to show me. My daughter came down and took over in the kitchen, so I could go out to the garden to get fresh lettuce for our tacos.

The first thing I saw when I went out the door was a beautiful rainbow in the sky! I thought, Wow, God really has a sense of humor and a beautiful way of also showing His love.

   

He took me through all the interruptions and frustrations of the past few hours. And then at the end of the day He gave me a rainbow. All I could say was, “Thank you, God!”

What about you? Have you had days where God used your circumstances to teach you about love?

• 
• 
• 
•