Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Today is a day focused on love. When you think of the word love, what comes to mind? I used to think love was about romantic words, roses, hugs and kisses. Love was that wonderful “feeling” that took over you when you looked in the eyes of someone special. Over the years my view on love has changed. Now I believe love is more of a choice, followed by an action, rather than a feeling.

I have come to learn that love is choosing to stay, in the hardest of times. Love is choosing to help others bear their burdens, even when the load is heavy. Love is choosing to serve, even in your pain. Love is taking the garbage out when it’s raining so your dad doesn’t have to. Love is choosing to wake up in the middle of the night with the baby so your spouse can get that extra hour of sleep. Love is choosing to shower someone with encouragement even when you, yourself are discouraged. Love is not just staying with someone when they are digging a trench, it is getting down in the mud and digging it with them. Love is choosing to show kindness to someone, even when they have no kindness to show in return. Love can be chosen even if the warm fuzzy feelings aren’t there. Actually love is proven most when you choose to be loving to someone even when everything in you wants to do the opposite.

Jesus chose to love me even when I was His enemy. There was nothing good in me that deserved His love. He could have just washed His hands of me, but instead He chose to let those precious hands be pierced on the cross of Calvary so that He could be my Savior and my True Love. I am forever grateful that I can choose love because He chose it first.