What is love?

It’s

butterflies in the tummy

heart pounding, hands trembling

I want to spend my life

looking into your eyes;

It’s

holding hands without

chaining a soul –

glorying in being together

being one

while respecting that we are two;

It’s

wanting someone else’s happiness

as much as – or more – than your own;

It’s

a difficult balance

of compromise

understanding

agreeing and

agreeing to disagree;

It’s

giving up the last piece of your favorite pie

because it is also your loved one’s favorite;

It’s

showing up

even when you would rather stay in bed;

It’s

cooking dinner, doing laundry, mowing the grass

taking out the garbage, cleaning the toilet

washing dishes, food shopping;

It’s

working hard

working through

working together

because

your love

is worth

the effort;

As time passes

the years fly by

the life you share

is a living testament

to the fleeting

goosebumps

and sweaty hands

that fade with time -

buried

under the daily grind

the stresses imposed

by existence -

but which find a way to surface

now and again

if only you look

and remember

what is love.

We are born looking, but love is not found.

It is cultivated.

Love germinates when physical attraction is past,

yet one is even more drawn.

Love sprouts in soil enriched with decomposing lusts and infatuations.

Love takes root when nothing unshared matters,

when you make her laugh

because you must see her smile,

and when those tender affections bear fruit that resemble her,

and you… improved.

Love comes when two discover a common goal, and dream.

When they strive toward that goal together, as a team.

When that dream is right there, finally within their grasp!

When nothing short of death can keep it from being achieved together…

and even death can only postpone the inevitable.

Here we have sifted through the hourglass sands to find love.

And it was time well spent.

When I saw this challenge, I just had to write something. Even though I was taking a break from The Prose for the summer. So I did and here it is:

We tend to think of LOVE as being a nice feeling we have. But what is real LOVE like? It's not a just a fuzzy, warm feeling!!!

The LOVE I know and have experienced is awe-inspiring. A LOVE that OVERCOMES, OVERWHELMS, FORGIVES and UNDERSTANDS.

I'm talking about the LOVE of GOD.

"For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever BELIEVETH in Him should NOT PERISH, but have EVERLASTING LIFE."

John 3:16 KJV

I would walk a mile

step inside your shoes

So I could know what's going on

I would walk a mile

Step inside your shoes

So I could figure out what's wrong

I want to understand your struggles

and what your going through

So you know you're not alone

and that I am here with you

I know it might seem hopeless

You're shaken to the core

But I'll be here to show you

just what friends are for

I would walk a mile

Step inside your shoes

Is there's anything that I can do

I would walk a mile

Step inside your shoes

To try to see the world the way you do

I want to understand your struggles

and what your going through

So you know you're not alone

and that I am here with you

I know it might seem hopeless

You're shaken to the core

But I'll be here to show you

just what friends are for

Everybody needs somebody else

To make the load a little lighter

Everybody needs to lend a helping hand

to make the world a little brighter

I want to understand your struggles

and what your going through

So you know you're not alone

and that I am here with you

I know it might seem hopeless

You're shaken to the core

But I'll be here to show you

just what friends are for

I would walk a mile

Step inside your shoes

Is there's anything that I can do

I would walk a mile

Step inside your shoes

To try to see the world the way you do

You know you love someone when you choose them every day.

You wake up in the morning, throw the covers off your body, and sit at the edge of your bed for a moment. Thinking about all of the things you don't want to do today. Maybe you don't want to get out of bed, go to work, run errands, or even deal with people in general.

Before you get the chance to lie back down, something gently touches your back.

You turn around and see someone lying next to you smiling-- hopefully, it's your favorite person. Suddenly you find the strength to get up and do everything you hate for someone special to you. You may even go the extra mile and do something special for that person. Just to see the smile on their face.

Your door burst open and a few smaller people burst in excited to see you. And you're reminded even more of why you do all those things you hate for everyone that matters.

The day has come to an end.

And you're standing staring in the mirror mentally recapping your day.

Maybe you came to realize that your favorite person didn't appreciate you going the extra mile today, maybe your small people weren't excited to see you this morning. Maybe that part was a dream you forgot moments after you woke up and you live without the gratitude of others

At that moment, as you stare in the mirror, I hope you chose that person today. I hope you made them feel special. Even if it meant hopping back in bed and canceling your plans. I hope the person staring back at you knows they matter to you.

A feeling.

A heartfelt emotion.

An inexplicable sense.

An instant attraction.

That's what everyone says love is.

Skipping across an emerald meadow.

Picnics on red checked blankets.

Dancing underneath a starry sky.

Kissing as raindrops gently fall.

That's what movies say love is.

A fight that ends in passionate sex.

Running hand in hand through a fantastic realm.

Riding off together into the sunset.

Winning a battle, side by side.

That's what books say love is.

That's not what love is.

Standing by someone through hell and high water.

Willingly fighting for someone else.

Staying when it would be easier to walk away.

Giving up happiness for another's sake.

That's what love is.

When a baby is born, there is a bond.

When best friends meet, they make a commitment.

At the alter, a vow is made.

A similar meaning behind each.

That's what love is.

Because love is not a feeling.

Love is a promise.

And one must make that choice.

The choice to do right by someone else.

The choice to put another first.

The choice to give that precious word.

Love may be a promise.

But it is a promise that is so rarely ever kept.

We begin to lose faith in the principle.

And without trust, love cannot exist.

There‘s a scene in the TV show “Community” where a character tries to film another character for a short skit.

”Pretend you’re my father.”

”But I don’t want to be your father!”

”Perfect, you already know your lines.”

He holds the video camera tenderly, like it’s a bird with a broken wing. It doesn’t mean anything in particular, this scene: but it portrays how we carry our damage with us, how our pain comes up casually, in a conversation where it’s not necessary. It’s all we know.

I once wrote about love, how trauma touches the part of ourselves we call home. Perhaps the opposite is true too: when we are loved, we know our inherent worth. We are accepted for who we are. The camera might add ten pounds but it’s real, the film of what we’ve been through, the journey home.

As her parents called less and her best friend stopped picking up the phone, it was nice to have that person who would be there no matter what, even if it was just for a short moment in the entirety of her life. Because being alone was just too much.

She used his love for her as an excuse for trust, not because love was actually what she wanted or felt. She knew love was the feeling that she didn’t want to die tomorrow because it meant leaving that person behind. She didn’t feel that for him. But he was the person who could save her from the nights she spent crying alone. Someone she could pour her soul to and who was obligated to listen if not understand.

People walked in and out of her life like a series of revolving doors, but he was the only one who had to say goodbye when he left.

Looking into their ordinary brown eyes as if they are the most beautiful things that you have ever seen. Staring longingly at their peaceful, sleeping face. Feeling immediately better by their touch or presence. Laughing together at the stupidest and smallest of things. Finding time to spend together, even if it's only for a few minutes. Sitting in silence but enjoying each other's company. Doing something that they love, even though you hate it, because you know it'll mean the world to them. Working on flaws that you never cared to pay attention to in order to improve the relationship. Accepting their differences and imperfections.

Having small arguments, fights, and disagreements but never being disrespectful or belittling the others perspective. Being angry or sad with them for a short period of time. Going hours without talking to each other but still making sure that they're ok. Spending some time apart without needing to be together all of the time. Little physical contact. Working long hours in order to have time together in the future. Not getting married but being together. Finding a way to work with the possible differences in love language.

There's so much more that I'm sure I'm missing something.

Love is lovely, and I mean that in every sense of the term. It is beautiful and charming, while also being sarcastic and trying. There is no such thing as a perfect romance or a perfect way to experience love, but it is one of the most sought-after feelings ever. Love is the feeling of walking through the door after a horrible day and seeing the dishes you had been putting off are done and put away. Love is not sleeping a wink at night because your partner is flailing and echoing snores, but you just can't seem to get yourself to move because you love the reminder that they are there in the present with you. The media portrays love in a mostly positive light, and for the most part, it should be positive, but it's not always sunset walks on the beach and bouquets of roses. Honestly, I don't believe love should be, because there is no growth in that. The yelling and screaming matches over trivial matters help to shape you and your relationship. I have grown and developed as a person and in my relationship through our trials. My experience with love has not been perfect, but I would not trade it for anything because, at the end of the day, my partner has stood by my side, unwavering, for almost a decade. My partner has supported me in my worst times and held me up to make me a better person. Love is knowing that that person will be by my side, holding my hand no matter what. Love in my house is tidying up extra so the other person is less stressed coming home, and cooking a meal for them, and it goes both ways. We look after each other, trust each other, and try to give space when needed. We laugh, cry, struggle, succeed and love together. I mean it truly when I say love is lovely, as it has so many meanings and ways to be expressed and experienced.