All you need is love



I have learned a lot about love in the last few years.  Mostly it has been what it DOESN’T look like and what I will accept in my own life.  Then you have weeks like the last few that I’ve had where you get a glimpse of what love really is. 

My dad passed when I was too young to really see my parents as more than just parents.  I know they loved ME, and I know they loved each other but when you’re entering the dreaded teenage years you don’t necessarily pay attention to the intricacies of your parent’s relationship.  That is something I wish I had been able to witness as I got older, but God had other plans for us. 

What I HAVE been able to see and appreciate is the relationships I have now.  I was able to see my best friends, who waited until they were in their late 20’s and early 30’s get married.  I am blessed to be able to go to their homes and interact with them and their spouses and see how much love has changed, pushed, and molded them, all for the better.  I have been able to see these husbands soften the sharp edges they once had as single women trying to make it in the world and I have been able to see what PARTNERSHIPS looks like. 

Then you have weeks like I had last week where you get to see what the definition of love really is.  Commitment.  My uncle passed away after a long battle with early onset Alzheimer’s and while my heart has been heavy at this loss and what it has meant for my family over the last few years, I cannot help but feel blessed.  Blessed that I was able to call him family and blessed that I was able to witness his fight from start to finish and everything that went along with it.

I don’t know how a spouse finds the courage to deal with such a crippling illness with such grace aside from truly, from the bottom of their hearts, having love for the person.  I watched my aunt push through stress and fear and forget all of that for the sake of caring for her beloved.  Even in the last week of his life, as he faded, he still had moments where he would reach for her.  He didn’t leave this earth until she was in bed, by his side, cradled next to him. 

Years of fighting an illness that took away his memory and speech, and in his final hours he still didn’t go until she told him that she would be ok and he could go be with the Almighty. I don’t know that there is a better definition of commitment than that, on both sides.  Honestly. 

I have been so burdened by everything going on with that, and I wasn’t sure I would even be able to get through one my best friend’s wedding this weekend.  Even that ended up being a blessing.  Being able to see the start of something so exciting, and know what a person’s life was like before meeting that special someone was very humbling.  I was able to celebrate new beginnings as other parts of me were mourning the end of a journey.

Last week was so insane, I am only just now really able to process what all happened.   What I have taken away from everything- losing a loved one, celebrating a new journey, running into an ex and being reminded of what I don’t need in my life- is this:

“If you love something, love it completely, cherish it, say it, but most importantly, show it.  Life is finite and fragile and just because something is there for one day, it might not be the next.  Never take that for granted.  Say what you need to say, then say a little more.  Say too much.  Show too much.  Love too much. Everything is temporary but love.  Love outlives us all.”


I sincerely hope that the legacy I leave behind is one of love.  Thank God I have so many wonderful examples of this in my own life to help make sure that is a reality.

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