Love

According to Merriam-Webster:

love (noun)

1. strong affection
2. warm attachment
3. attraction based on sexual desire
4. a beloved person
5. unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for others

love, loved, loving (verb)

1. cherish
2. to feel a passion, devotion, or tenderness for
3. caress
4. to take pleasure in

I have to admit, I went to the dictionary for help because I wanted a definition. I was trying to think of a good explanation of what love IS to me, and I keep falling short. How you can properly put into words what all love encompasses? Yes, it is a feeling, but as Merriam-Webster pointed out, it is also an action. A verb. Something you DO.

So to me, here is how I define love. Or at least a list of examples of love in my own life:

• Love is finding a genuine smile to give, even if the day has been sad.
• Love is sitting on the floor, struggling to put together a new toy, simply to see my daughter's face light up when its done.
• Love is going through the motions- the same motions, day after day after day- to take care of my family. (Sweeping the floor, fixing the food, putting away the laundry, paying the bills...you get the picture.)
• Love is the butterfly in my stomach when I hear my husband's car in the driveway.
• Love is the excited shriek my daughter lets out when she sees her daddy is home.
• Love is the hug I get at the end of a long week, from an equally exhausted husband.
• Love is preparing a healthy dinner for my family, even when you are tired and Whataburger sounds good and easy.
• Love is listening to my husband's heart.
• Love is caring about a friend's life.
• Love is when I hear my daughter call out for me when she needs me.
• Love is handing over the remote--even though you were watching something of your own.
• Love is bringing a pot of homemade soup to a sick relative.
• Love is a good night-- make that good morning-- kiss.

Yes, Love is a something you can feel. The excited feelings, the nervous jitters, the butterflies, or the jumps you feel in your heart, as if it is going to burst any minute- those feelings are true. But they may or may not last.

Real, lifetime love is an action. An action that you DO, day in and day out. Love, that way, has the power to transform people, marriages, families.

So, though the commercialism and expectations of Valentine's Day has ruined this holiday for many, take it back. Tomorrow LOVE someone. Yes, tell the people you love that you love them. But do more than that. Make them a sandwich. Fix them a cold drink when they have been working hard. Give them a genuine smile and a kiss to knock their socks off. LOVE them.

And if you are lucky...they will love you back.