“Love to be real, it must cost.
It must empty us of self.”
―Mother Teresa
***
“You know that Love looks like something, right? ”
“It does”, Pastor Tommy said at church last week. “Love is action…and it usually costs us something.”
And with that, my pen flew into high gear. I couldn’t scribble the words down fast enough. They felt like a spark inside my heart, and I wanted to think a lot more about them.
What does love look like?
Man did that question stir up a lot of great conversations around here this past week! Seems like most folks (myself included) feel like their idea of what love looks like has changed quite a bit over the years. (How could it not, right?)
These days, I think love looks like a pivot point. One from which every decision I make, and every action I take, should be based.
It looks like actions without expectations.
Like joy in others…the kind that feels essential to our own.
It looks like a wider margin, freed up for things that didn’t used to fit.
It looks like a nature changed.
A promise kept.
Like a handed-over heart.
A held-fast hope.
It looks like patience, personified.
Like hanging on and hoisting up.
Like the glue that holds life and faith together.
Like a first precious glimpse of Heaven.
***
Everybody is going to have their own version of what love looks like to them, but I think it’s so fascinating to realize that it all boils down to the same thing, don’t you? #sacrifice
I look for it everywhere lately.
Do you see it here? In a breath, taken away because he gets to share his life with her…
(source)
Do you see it here? Standing in awe, and singing for Him…
Do see it here? In a commitment that was built to laugh…and last… 😉
Do you see it here? In the time he spent away from the part of his heart he hadn’t met yet?
Do you see it here? Where the sun meets the Son…
I’d love to hear what love looks like to you if you feel like sharing in the comment section below. Maybe it looks like a Bible verse, a memory, or something happening in front of you right now. Whatever it is, I’d love to hear about it. 🙂 And for those of you on Instagram, I thought maybe we could share photos of what love looks like over there today, too. (Just use the hashtag #WhatLoveLooksLike and we’ll all be able to connect.) I texted some friends yesterday and told them to send me a photo of what love looked like to them, right at that exact moment, and it was so sweet to see their hearts pop up on my screen in that way!
Love y’all,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.“
– 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Such a beautiful post! Wonderful photos to illustrate. This is a tough question to answer. My first thoughts were of my husband and all the sacrificial things he does for our family. Like working at a job that he doesn’t love. Or making a special trip to the store to get the orange juice that only our youngest drinks. Or promising to wear the rainbow loom bracelet our oldest made for him every single day, and then actually doing it. Love is definitely action. Thank you for this today!
Love is my grandparents in the assisted living facility married over 70 years and her patiently combing his unruly hair for him and him patiently listening to her as she says why don’t we get married because she forgot they were…and his heart and mine break a little.
Wow. How sweet for him to know she loves him enough to marry him, without realizing she already has. Precious.
So very beautiful that I linked back to it on my latest post.
Thank you.
When my 7 year old grandson looks up from a game or a TV program and as he watches me walk thru the room , he randomly says… ” I love you Grammy”…. just my presence passing thru makes him think of love….. ( like the presence of my Savior… in the room with me ALWAYS…. ) Like my 41 year old son putting his arm around me to give me a hug for no special reason… just because….Thank you Layla
Right now to me, Love is missing your 20 yr old son even though he’s so lost and drives you up the wall when he’s home but feeling like I’m missing a part of me when he’s gone. Of course it doesn’t help that my 17 yr old son is on a mission trip too! Being a Mom is both the best and hardest thing to do/be. Make sure you keep the LOVE of your best friend/hubby alive because they will be gone/grown before you know it and I thank God that we still enjoy each others company!
I loved this 🙂 Today, after leaving my family in Georgia just yesterday (who I only see during vacation once a year), love feels like yearning and wishing and dreaming for all of them to be with me in California. Love feels like heartbreak and hopefulness that we’ll see each other sooner, rather than later.
Love is my precious husband of 46 years gently taking care of me everyday through my 4th bout with cancer .
As hospice volunteer I’ve seen what love looks like through some of our families. I’ve seen sisters take a sister outside in her hospital bed to,share lovely weather, I’ve seen a husband take great care of his precious wife,playing her favorite music for one thing. I’ve seen a daughter take care of her mother who had made her life difficult through growing up years. All done in the name of Gods love for us. I hope my sons saw the love for their father in the way I took care of him during life’s difficult time of death. We can show others Gods love for them.
I have been reading your blog for a number of years and all I can say is: Best. Post. Ever.
Love…is a choice.
Even though Jesus could have called 10 thousand angels down to take His place: He chose to die on that cross for us.
Even though He knew people would still reject Him after laying down His life for them: He chose to obey.
We have to decide- in advance- how we will CHOOSE to respond: to people, situations, and unexpected happenstances in our lives. If we CHOOSE to LOVE, then we have made the right choice. Not choosing, is still choosing…your blog made me cry and catch my breath, at the wonder of LOVE.
So beautiful, just so beautiful. The images and the words!
Love looks like all of the wonderful volunteers, both youth and adult, who gave up their past two days to bless the children of Melbourne, Australia in our church school holiday program. The children all grew so much in their faith and had revelation of how wonderfully He made them and the AMAZING plans He has for them. Not to mention the music, fun, creativity, etc. There are amazing people in this world and Im so grateful they continue to pour out from their gorgeous hearts. Love in action in winter.
My 3 year old climbed into my bed this morning and said “mom, do you need some love?” then without waiting for my answer she curled all around me. mmmmm. After she felt it was sufficient we went into her 6 month old brother’s bedroom and when he saw us he smiled with his whole body and kicked his feet excitedly. Its intoxicating how simple love is for them. Your presence is enough. They are happy because you showed up. So sometimes love is showing up.
In my adult life it feels like a more complicated version of that. Loving people where they are at, doing, giving what they need and not what you want them to have. But when I really think about it, I guess that is showing up too.
Yes!! So true, Niki! It’s been so life-changing to step back and “boil it down” this week, and to realize that nothing looks more like love than willingly sacrificed time!
Thank you for sharing this sweet peek into your life with us! XO
Here is a poem I wrote several years ago when my children were younger. This is an example of love that my Saviour shows me even still today.
The Harried Housewife
It’s my understanding that the most prevalent way to get skin cancer is to be exposed to the sun for long periods of time. Well, that’s not a problem for me. You see, unless we are running to an activity or going to church, I’m pretty much safe from skin cancer because I generally stay in one spot~the kitchen. Sometimes I think that dishes reproduce when I am not looking. The floor somehow summons his friend, Dirt, to join him in a game of checkers when my back is turned. And my once pristine table now has oddly colored splotches to compliment the mark left by a battery that didn’t want to be forgotten.
When my pity party has become more elaborate than a $1,000 a plate political fund-raising dinner, that’s when the LORD reminds me of His presence. You see, the dirty dishes in the sink remind me that the LORD has provided us with more than plenty of food to eat. The dirty floor brings to attention the fact that the LORD has blessed us with children who can go outside, run and play…not a privilege that every child has. And the table speaks volumes of the countless creative hours of the family getting together to make cards for loved ones, work on projects for various subjects, and talk through tough times while enjoying the LORD’s provisions.
So my skin may never be bronze from the sun. But my needs, and sometimes even my wants will always be provided by the SON.
This is so beautiful, my eyes filled with tears.
Thanks for the very thoughtful post. It makes you stop and ask yourself what Love looks like to me. I will be thinking about giving more love this week.