Patience = Love

"Love ain't a thing, love is a verb"

I am often faced pondering "what is love? and have I ever felt it?"  That is a very broad statement and can be taken in many different directions.  Everyone has felt some sort of connection with another being whether it be your Mother and Father, your brothers and sisters, your distant family, even a pet.  Of course there is no such thing as a totally exclusive statement, but I feel as if everyone has felt that sort of family connection and I do believe that is a form of love.

There is also the all inclusive love that God has for all of his children.  This is a statement I can make with certainty because no matter your situation, no matter your past transgressions, no matter your current situation God loves you more than you will ever know.  Many people, unfortunately, don't take the time to acknowledge the love that is given everyday by our God and every day someone misses the chance to give God thanks for his love is a day wasted.

The specific type of love I am concerned with is the love of a companion, a partner, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a couple.  Are we predestined to be with someone? Can we build love with a friend and allow it to blossom into a beautiful Hollywood love story? Is it possible we have already been with and left the one person we were meant to be with? All of these questions run through my head like an Olympic sprinting event and I really have no stationary position to start from.  My past relationships have ended up in tears and I am one to believe it occurred for a reason. To allow for my maturation to occur and to open my eyes to what is really important in my life right now. 1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." You can take that literally and say There is no fear in love, The man who feels that he loves God with all his heart can never dread him as his Judge. Or spin it in a direction that can be used in an earthly sense and say there is no fear in love, that love is pure and there is nothing to hide. It can only occur when two people can discuss anything without problem and allow for a constant stream of communication.  As I think of that I see friends of mine leaving their partners of significant time periods recently and I really question myself even more.  Did I have true love at one point? Did they have it? Can true love evaporate? Was there never any true love at all in any of our relationships?  As a man who has an anchor to always turn to when the tides get tough and the current tends to send my boat astray, it does mean something to me when someone comes to me and wants to talk about why it happens.  I always turn to God and quote Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good to those that love him, to those who are called according to his purpose." Its the sentence by which I live my life. Patience is key when awaiting that special person into my or anyone's life.  All things work together FOR GOOD. There is no debating that, its set in stone.  Break-ups and fights happen for a reason.  Move past the anger and resentment and find out why it happened and improve yourself from the experience you've had.

Now that is a lot to take in, I am aware.  To many love is a four letter word, taboo if you will.  To others it is magnificent because they have found that special someone to share their life with and are assured they are right for one another.  What about people like me? Somewhere in the middle. Confused and not sure how to approach love in the appropriate fashion.  The best possible advice I can give, coming from a man who has had feelings so strong for someone he had no idea what to do with himself, to standing in a corner alone watching life pass me by, is patience.  Love can not be forced, love can not be wanted by one person and not the other.  Sometimes it is instant, sometimes it is built over many years.  All I know is love is illusive and will one day, by the Grace of God, bless me and you too if you approach it with the right attitude.

"I don't have answers, and neither do you, but I know the pain of a heartbreak" -Ben Rector