Love is the movement

In honor of it being Valentine’s day-ish, I thought I would take the moment to go English major-y on you.

How Do I Love Thee? Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with a passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. I have always loved this poem. Lately, however, I am beginning to understand it better. It says that love is felt with the full capacity of your soul. It is more than just a feeling that can end. Love is there in the mundane hardships of day to day. During the day and night. As men strive to do what is right, so is love. As men are humble, love is pure. With all the hurt and heartache of the past, that energy is put into loving. With the simple faith of a child, so my love should trust. As I have been disillusioned and jaded, I will turn that into love. I should love with with every emotion and phase of my life What’s more, my love will not stop after death. This poem reminds me of I Corinthians 13…the love chapter. I think Mrs. Browning really understood what God meant for love to be. Lately, God is showing me what true love really is and is not. Somehow, the world has gotten it all screwed up. We have made love into something that benefits us. We are selfish and conditional. We only love when it is convenient. Instead, God has shown us the perfect example of love. I John says that there is no fear in love, because perfect love casts out fear. This is something that God has been teaching me. Fear is not the appropriate motivator. If our trust is in God, then love is in its proper place, and everything else will work out. It always comes back to that…trust God with your life, and he will work everything else out. When you do, and you really allow God to take control, beautiful things happen.