Whats Love?

Before I got engaged I had the concept of love all wrong. I thought love was an emotion that you get. I was totally oblivious to the fact that love is not an emotion. If love was just an emotion then people would fall in and out of love every hour. Growing up I was always told that Jesus is our perfect example of love when he died on the cross for our sins. But, I didn't really get what that meant. I took my love lessons from the romance movies I watched growing up. But majority of those movies don't display real love. They are fictional movies and if you’re not wise they can have you brining unrealistic expectations into your relationship.
Your significant other is not going to be perfect. But are you perfect? (I'm not) The person you love is not always going to make you feel good. Some days they are going to make you upset, and maybe even cry. They won't do this intentionally if they love you, but they will make mistakes because they are human. We all make mistakes because that's what imperfect people do. Through my relationship with Kyle, God revealed to me what Jesus's death really meant. Jesus loved us so much he died for those who loved Him, and those who hate Him. His death is an example of true love. TRUE LOVE KEEPS ON LOVING YOU! On bad days and on good days and on days when you’re just not feeling it love is still there. On days when I am upset with Kyle and on the days he makes me feel like the best thing walking our love still perseveres.
When I first told Kyle I loved him it was Valentine’s Day. He had got me roses and made me feel so special and without even thinking about it I said, I love you. He looked at me and asked me to repeat what I said. Once I realized it I quickly lied and said something else that wasn't even close (Lord forgive me). I was brought up in a generation where telling the guy first is a not good. I feel like that might even be a universal girl code. But what does a girl do when the guy doesn't say it back? I knew that Kyle knew what I said and when he brought it up later I confessed after lying 10 more times (once again God I'm sorry). But he didn't say it back. I was crushed, and I felt dumb. Spring break came about 3 weeks later and I went on a trip with my track team, and as soon as I came back Kyle told me he loved me. In my mind I was thinking what took you so long, but I was also relieved. I couldn't stay mad at Kyle for not saying I love you back when I wanted him to. When Jesus expressed His love to us we might not immediately tell Him we love Him back and mean it. Love is the greatest commandment in the bible. …"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And He said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. This is the great and foremost commandment’. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF’.” (Matthew 22:36-39)
What I continue to learn about love is that it takes work and it takes two people dedicated to putting in work. Also love is a sacrifice. Kyle and I both have to deny ourselves and make sacrifices for each other. We don't allow ourselves to partake in activities that could lead us astray. We sacrifice our individualism to become one. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24) Becoming one is not an easy process because God literally has to strip you of your individualistic mindset and behavior. During this continuous process I've learned a lot about myself that I didn't know and some stuff that I didn't like. But Kyle shows me grace as I show him grace. We both mess up and there is no perfect guide to being in a relationship because there is no perfect relationship. Real love just keeps on loving despite of the imperfections in the relationship.