Have You Ever Seen Love?

We all know how love feels.  The butterflies when you first meet “the one.”  Even that first boyfriend or girlfriend.  But if we are honest, those butterflies, tend to fly away.  The one we were once so smitten with we would now like to smack! We are mad and have lost all romantic notions.  Not that we don’t love them, it’s just that our human nature has taken over.  Most of us will get over whatever it was that made us angry or upset, forgive and ask for forgiveness in return. Then for a time, all is well, and those feelings of love are restored.  At least until the next time.

Thankfully, love is much more than just a feeling.  It can be a deep affection for another, a physical attraction, affection based on admiration, or devotion to something or someone.  But, have you ever seen love?  Does love look like the romance movies we see on television or at the theatre?  Is it that gaze in a groom’s eyes as he sees his bride walking down the aisle to stand by his side?  Is it the elderly couple holding hands as they walk into the restaurant together after 50 years of marriage? Maybe it’s all of these things?  One thing I do know is I have seen love!

Over the last several years I have gotten to know the sweetest couple where my daughters play tennis.   The wife has dementia and each month I notice her condition continues to deteriorate.  I watch how patient the husband is with his wife. He dotes on her.  Tells her she is beautiful, holds her hand, makes sure she knows where he is going to be, and brings her whatever she needs.  Sometimes when I watch them, the gentleness and sweetness bring tears to my eyes.  It also reminds me of how my granddad lovingly cared for my grandmother.  How he held her hand and spoke gently to her, his actions showed her how much he cared.  I don’t know much about the early life of this couple at the tennis court, but like most families, I am sure they had their share of difficulties and disagreements over their many years of marriage.  But they didn’t let that stop them from loving.

My grandparents had their fair share of ups and downs. They met at The University of Oklahoma before WWII and married during the war.  From 1943 – 1954 they had six children, had survived WWII, and suffered through the worst heatwave Oklahoma had ever seen.  Still, their commitment to one another never wavered. They persevered.  In 1998 my grandmother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.  The following year she had a stroke and was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.  I watched my granddad love my grandmother in action and deed for seven years before she passed in 2006.  They were married 63 years. The way my grandfather and this man cared for their wives was a reflection of their love.  They allowed me to see love.  They exemplified 1 Corinthians 13 - “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self –seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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