Day 127 - Only Love

I was reflecting on a conversation Saturday, and it made me realize that love often pushes boundaries and says things to/of us that can only acceptably be said in a loving relationship.  In other words, love creates space and privileges within a relationship that are not present in most other situations.  I'll list a few and you see if this is true or not of love:

• Only love will let someone comment on your anatomy (in public) and let them live to see another day.
• Only love will hold back someone from responding when "insulted" in public (be it the love within that person or the love in someone else who intervenes).
• Only love will allow you to go to places you don't want to go purely for the sake of being with the one(s) you love because they asked.
• Only love will allow a parent to say 'I love you' over and over to a child who is unable to return the words (whether it's because the child's too young to speak, emotionally unable to connect, or too far into their own stuff to hear it).
• Only love will get up at the crack of dawn to go to work till it's dark outside to provide for those unable to provide for themselves.
• Only love will sit with you as you sort yourself out, whether with tissues, an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, a pillow to hit/scream into, or just the ministry of presence that says I will be with you all the way through.
• Only love has the strength to see someone in a vulnerable place (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially) and not take advantage to fulfill their own needs.
• Only love can see and will provide for you that you which don't have the words to articulate or even know to need.
• Only love can still see the beauty and the greatness when the flaws and issues make themselves apparent.
• Only love will have the patience to not only watch but help you grow through your baggage, mess, insecurities, and flaws, especially when such causes things like attitude, sarcasm, shutting down, etc.
• Only love answers the phone "after hours" to sit on the phone for a word of advice or just so you're not alone.
• Only love will put its needs/desires to the side to help attend to someone else's.
• Only love knows when to say 'no' as a means of helping someone to grow.
• Only love takes the time to learn someone in order to bless their lives (and not to manipulate them for their own gain).
• Only love will give love when it has nothing to gain.

There are many more things that only real love will do.  Feel free to comment and add more... and remember to seek and give love like there's nothing else in the world (because really, there isn't).