Love defined

before I begin this post I'd like to say that I am attempting at being creative with my page...we'll see how it goes I guess!  But I digress...

I have heard once and read twice this past week the following quote: "love is just a word until someone defines it for you."

I sat back and just thought, "huh, isn't that a great quote."  I then got all gushy and thought once more, "Doug has most certainly defined love and has helped me see that it is way more than a word."  I let that quote stew in my brain for the next few days and I began to realize that as pretty as that quote is, I disagree with it 100%.

In college, one of my favorite professors said on the very first day of class, "A word is a symbol that is arbitrarily assigned meaning."  This brilliant understanding of our ever so confusing language shed some light on my thoughts.  I thought that it would be incredibly sad that in 26 years of my life, just now am I defining love, and that love is defined by one person...silliness I say.

Don't get me wrong...I get it...I understand the Hallmark sentiment of the phrase of finding someone who defines love for you...but there are many more versions of love that I hope were defined by myself and by others throughout my 26 years of life.

So how has love been defined to me?  Who assigned meaning to that word and why do I choose to care about it anyway?

Love in my life was first defined when God created the world.  Next, love was defined when he gave us his only son, so that he may save us from our transgressions.  Fast forward a few years (ok, a lot of years) and I define the love I know when my family began.  When my mother and father were married and when they exchanged vows and said they would lovingly accept children from God.  Love in my life continued to be defined with the births of all my siblings.  Love is defined by my twin--God knew I needed her in my life.  Love defined is my husband whose nickname simply is "patience".  The minute I saw positive on my pregnancy test with Deacon added another line to the 2,000 year long definition of love.  Love will never stop making it's presence in our life...we just need to be open to it. 

Love has been defined through family, friends, teachers, pets, happiness and joy, sorrow and even pain.  I sometimes find the most love in the darkest times of my life and to date that is the richest definition that helps me know what love is.

This world is a walking thesaurus--everyday I see love and everyday I understand it's power a little more.  Complete strangers define the love I know--even through simple exchanges and actions.  God put us on this Earth, he wants us to show his love for us to others. 

I need to act, speak and be love--Love in Action.  I am called to love my family, my friends and my enemies.  I am called not to judge or gossip.  I am called to simply be and do.

So to close my love speak, I will fill you in on events/people today that have helped defined love:

*Deacon saying, "I LUB you mommy"
*Complete stranger holding the door for me
*The warm sun
*Conversation with a dear friend
*Swimming
*playing soccer
*Deacon blessing me on my forehead
*a phone call from Doug
*my puppy curled up on the couch
*Dairy queen dipped ice cream
*my mother and father
*My neighbor

It's the little things more than the big things that define love.  Please be awake to the world around you--God is trying to fill your heart with so much love, you just need to be open to it.  Be open...take it in and give it away.