#15 - K(s)now Love

I know some of you out there have certainly read Gary Chapman’s “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts”...but if perhaps you haven’t…you’re in for a real treat in this blog.  

I am noticing a common pattern being ushered by Holy Spirit on what I am to write about in between stories:  Subject 1 connects with Subject 2.  Seems simple enough…but sometimes it isn’t because subjects can be vast and context is pivotal to make sure I am helping share God’s truth to the fullest. Sometimes I have to quiet myself before The Lord to lessen complexities among these writings and to remember that God is always with us, Jesus always shows us The Way, and Holy Spirit always guides us…and I feel fully supported knowing that truth applies to me also.  I try to leave myself as open as possible when I write because this isn’t something I just build each week (not that there’s anything wrong with that)…I get two subjects each week…and I pray and meditate on them throughout the week…and in my busy life…when I sit down to write…Holy Spirit has it all there for me as I allow myself to be an open vessel on a blank word document and seeing this season of writing that I am in…makes me feel even more unconditionally loved.  Would I like stories to write?  Yes.  Do I need them?  No.  Why?  Because surrendering in obedience, trusting God, walking in faith, following Jesus, and loving Abba…is enough.  I’ll have stories again but I realize now more than ever that there’s a time and place for them…so right now…I am basking in God’s unconditional love and unabashedly trusting Him.

They say the season of love is in February around Valentine’s Day but I want to openly contest that…I think we are in the season of love.  If God is love (God’s truth-The Bible states that He is love-1 John 4:8) and He gave His only son Jesus Christ (God’s Truth-The Bible states this in John 3:16)...we are literally about to celebrate the birth of God’s only son…and remember where unconditional love, mercy, and grace was physically birthed into our world for us.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if there was a 6th love language?  The 5 love languages as it is are:  Quality Time (my primary) - You show love by giving undivided attention, active listening, and meaningful conversations; intentionally planning activities together, sharing time with no distractions, and creating special moments (memories).  I will elaborate on this because I am passionate about it…you can’t get time back and sometimes all we have left are memories we helped create (vacations, events, etc.).  Time here is literally priceless…but quality time is irreplaceable (and precious).  When you’re in the pulchritudinous blur of nothing else existing around you but the ones you love because time is obsolete in cherished joy…you’re in your zone.

Words of Affirmation - You show love by the words that come out of your mouth; encouragement, motivation, wisdom, gratitude, (singing IMO) etc.  You enjoy talking with those you love, sharing wisdom is a passion, and provoking authentically truthful thoughts is important to you.  When you see the “Aha!” moment on someone’s face because of something you said…you’re in your zone.

Acts of Service - You show love by physically doing things to help others; chores, cooking meals, easing up someone’s workload, charity work, etc.  When you can witness the ones you love basking in relaxation and knowing that you helped them or knowing you helped someone out of the kindness of your heart…you’re in your zone.

Physical Touch - You show love by physically touching someone; massages, hugs, kisses, hand holding, etc.  Seems self explanatory from there; no need for elaboration, LOL!!!  When someone’s tense body relaxes because you grab them for a hug and you feel all warm and fuzzy…you’re in your zone.

Receiving Gifts - You put in thoughts for gift giving and make sure that gifts are meaningful which shows consideration (and memory) for others preferences; creating meaningful gifts, purchasing personalized items for others, showing that you remember big and small things about the person receiving the gift,  etc.  When you see the element of surprise on someone’s face after you gave them a gift…you’re in your zone.

I am going to add on to the concept of love languages…but first and foremost let it be known…only The Holy Trinity can claim this one:

Unconditional Mercy, Grace, and Love through Sacrifice - 

As stated above in John 3:!6 - “For God loved the world in this way.  He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  If you’re a parent…put yourself in Abba’s position:  you bore your child into this world knowing He would be sacrificed…knowing he would die the most horrific and public death one could possibly endure.  God’s unconditional love can’t truly be defined in a love language because it is so vast…but it is deeply expressed in His Truth (The Bible) and the unconditional sacrifice of His only son is blatantly and historically evident…shows the magnitude of His love for us.  Without Jesus showing us The Way, The Truth, and The Life (John 4:16)...we’d still be lost, friends…and being lost isn’t what God’s love has in store for us.  God wanted us to know the depths of His mercy, grace, and love through overwhelming, extraordinary, and unconditional sacrifice.

For many of us during this holiday season, it is customary to give gifts (receiving gifts)…some of us will bring Christmas cheer by caroling (words of affirmation)….some of us will hug our families (physical touch)…some of us hold holi-day (holy = set apart…day is a 24 hour unit of time for us) events for loved ones (quality time)...some of us will prepare meals for others (acts of service)...some people don’t have the ability to do any of that.  I am blessed and grateful I am not in that last category but the truth of it is…there are literally millions of people (approximately 700 million people according to Google) that live in poverty around the globe and I am sure there are more that we don’t even know about.  Just as there is a massive difference between blessing and battle (Parenthesis Rabbit Hole:  My “Spotify Wrapped” came out and the music I listen to has changed so much-the number 1 song I listened to 154 times was “Presence” by LO Worship and part of the lyrics include “blessing and battle” which is where I got that from.  Side note, I listened to 346 genres of music and 56,216 minutes of music which accounts for approximately 39 days.  The number one genre I listened to:  worship.)…there’s a massive difference between want and need…there’s a massive difference between moderation and excess…and there’s a massive difference between joy and happiness…there’s a massive difference between mercy and grace (which I previously wrote about and will briefly elaborate on below).  Don’t put yourself in a battle during this holiday season where you are sacrificing your paychecks to “bless” others because as stated above…this is the true season of love and there’s more than one way to bless others without purchasing a gift at all.  Please hear me out…I am not saying that gift giving is bad…but it can be unbalanced…and ultimately I feel it is unnecessary despite partaking; this is where I understand and realize the massive difference between want and need.  Ultimately, my love language is quality time so I’d much rather cherish quality time with loved ones over anyTHING else (people over things all day, everyday…thank you, Yahweh!!!).

I am going to elaborate on the “massive differences” above for further context because I feel it’s important to break them down for different perspectives and deeper context.  I am going to give summed up definitions to make this easier and I am not even going to elaborate TOO much on them because I know YOU are more than capable to pray about them and meditate on them no differently than I have this week so that Holy Spirit can provoke critical thinking and changes of hearts surrounding this holiday.  The journey of writing this has been unparalleled and I was certainly gifted beautiful perspectives…I hope it does the same for you.  So as you read over these…allow Holy Spirit to flow through you…what do you recognize that’s different?  What do you recognize that’s similar?  Lastly, you are encouraged to consider what and who love TRULY is.:

Want vs. Need

Want = strong desire for something (optional)

Need = a requirement for well-being or survival (food, shelter, water-not optional)

Moderation vs. Excess

Moderation = the avoidance of excess and observation of reasonable limits

Excess = undue or immoderate indulgence

Joy vs. Happiness

Happiness = good fortune, prosperity

Joy = great pleasure, bliss, or delight

(Parenthesis Rabbit Hole:  These two definitions DO intermingle, however…Joy does NOT have the “good fortune” or “prosperity” in the definition, therefore…it makes a SIGNIFICANT difference.)

Mercy vs. Grace

Mercy = a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion 

(God sparing us from people, places, or things despite what we want.)

Grace = God-given help or kindness

(God’s way of giving us what we need to survive.)

And…last but not least…this is a bonus…I am adding this last one…not to compare but rather that you practice both this holiday season in celebration of the greatest love born unto us…

Jesus Christ.

Gratitude vs. Appreciation

Gratitude = A deep internal state of feeling of thankfulness for something good in your life.

Appreciation = External focus on action by recognizing and valuing the specific good qualities or efforts of someone or something.

For knowing real love, for knowing Jesus is the reason for the season, for authentically surrendering to Abba, for fresh perspectives, for new context, for critical thinking, for Holy Spirit’s guidance, for Gary Chapman and the 5 Love Languages, and for “snowing” this season is the season of real love…I am…

#Satisfied