What Is Love?

What is true love?

I'm sitting here in my sunroom, watching my father and my sweet boyfriend smoking a cigar and relaxing just a few hours after one of my dearest best friends has gotten married. I'm thinking about what it takes to really understand that word: love.

When I saw Kim walk down the aisle (yes, her name is Kim, too!), tears came to my eyes as I thought about what she was walking toward. Obviously, her (now) husband Matt, but it's more than that. It's coming home at the end of a long day to a comforting hug and the stability t of knowing you always have love waiting on you. It's a warm hand and a kiss on a cold winter night, someone who will always run and get you a glass of ice water when you're too warm in bed to go get it. It's someone to vent to, someone to lean on when you can't stand on your own, and in my case tonight, someone to sit by your side as you share in the joy of the ones you love.

I'm in love, friends. A good man came into my life in March of this year, and when he did everything I knew to be true, changed.

We tried to be friends, but we're so compatible it intimidated me a little and for awhile I pushed him away. It wasn't until I grew up a little that I realized what I had in Craig, and we reconnected this summer. Once we reconnected, it was like no time had passed, and we've been dating ever since that day.

He's calm where I'm emotional. He reminds me to show grace and patience when I'm angry, and he's the voice of reason when I can't hear anything but the rush of the situation. I look up to him a lot, not as a best friend, but as a man of God with an amazing heart for service and love for other people. If there was a wish list of things I'd ask God for when I was growing up, he hits every item - and he's handsome to boot.

So now that I've found the man I want to spend the rst of my life with, I just think about what I always thought love was. When you're younger, it's passing notes and a date to the movies on Friday. In college, you think it's the most earth-shattering thing when your study group partner asks you to hit up the Pike party on Saturday night. But now that I'm graduated, settled into a career and watching my dear friends get married and start families of their own, it hits me: love's nothing like I ever thought it would be.

Before, I wasn't in love. I was in like, a cheap imitation of the real thing. But now, with Craig, I know I'm in love. And true love is work. It's hard, sometimes it's frustrating and a lot of the time it's challenging. But, it is always worth it. There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for bringing Craig into my life, because even our most difficult days are still infinitely better than the days I spent without him. I've grown to become a better woman than I thought I could be, and I owe that to both him and Jesus Christ. Not only do I have an awesome boyfriend, but I've been given an amazing best friend, and I know he's one of a kind.

I look forward to a lot in my life these days. I've been cancer free for NINE MONTHS already (praise you, Jesus!) - which is so huge!! I have some amazing friendships in my life with women who have blessed me beyond any friendships I've had before. My family is so supportive and loving - and I'm blessed with a job. My relationship with Craig is another great element to life, and as we work toward and build a future together, I'm remember the broken roads it took for me to get here... all the times I prayed to God that he would just give me the patience to wait for the man who would be worth it all... March 20th, he answered that prayer - and I'm going to be forever thankful for the man he provided.

My hope is that you, friend, wait for the real thing, not the "counterfeit," like my mom calls them. The counterfeit is never worth the sacrifice, and patience is always rewarded when you seek what God wants for you. Here's to your happiness!

Parting thought:

The worst thing you can do to true love is deny it; so when you find that special someone, don't let anyone or anything get in your way - Anonymous.

Talk soon.