Why are we so afraid of Love? I am a Lover and a Dreamer by nature. My Mom says I was born wearing Rose Colored Glasses! And yet, anxiety and insecurity were shields about me for most of my life. While I could see Love and give Love freely and abundantly, this was a gift given, not freely received.
Have you ever given Love only to feel like it wasn’t enough? Or maybe it was ignored? Or maybe it was always taken but never reciprocated and you felt invisible or irrelevant?
There is so much written on Love and what it is, what it means, how it looks and behaves. For Believers, the most well known passage is the Love Chapter-I Corinthians 13, often read at weddings. Love is first and foremost a Person, Jesus Christ. Love is also a feeling, emotion and a commitment.
So what are we so afraid of? Aside from any experience we have had, I believe it's the fear of rejection. If you have been betrayed or hurt in your past, it’s not be easy to love the next time. We build a wall of protection around our heart to make sure that next time, the level of pain will be less. Our skin gets thicker and thicker for self-preservation's sake until we either rebel and give up on ever loving again or you become so guarded that you almost cannot feel love again. I lived a loooong time in that place.
But God!
God’s Love is so sweet and generous, unconditional, tangible, exciting, fun, adventurous, forgiving and accepting us where we are, picking us up when we fall, our strength in weakness, catching and wiping away all the tears that fall, holding us when we are scared, lonely or sad, lovingly correcting our attitudes, guiding and protecting us from the enemy. God is the first One to celebrate our victories and cheer us on to the next one. He is our Father, Friend, Healer, Savior and Redeeming King, Lord over All. This is True Love.
Love grows where trust is the soil.
Trust is a main ingredient to grow love. As we learn to let our wall down, may our trust and dependence be placed in the plans and purposes of God first and above all others. Trusting God to lead us in our love for others, and allowing them to Love us too, as He first loved us.
Does it means everyone has access to our deepest places? No. But we lead in our relationships with Love, for Love, in the Name of Love.
People will be led into our hearts for a moment, a season or a lifetime. Here are a few tips as you learn to let Love in:
- Pray for those the Lord brings into your life. Pray for God to show you the plans He has for love to be exchanged. How will you love them and let them love you?
- Start small with trusting conversations. Get to know each other on deeper levels. When you don’t trust, you don’t share. Many relationships, be it marriage or friendships, are ministry opportunities. They all begin with a Day 1.
- Remember the enemy will always be after heart connections that stir each other in Jesus Name, so pray over your connections for covering, always clearly edifying and guarding.
- Miscommunications happen and feelings do get hurt. Pray and talk these out. Pridefulness has no place in Love.
Love is a beautiful Gift. May you choose to give and receive it, unafraid!
If today's encouragement hugged your HEART today, let me know in the comments or meet me over
in my Facebook Sisterhood Community! Feel free to share this blog with a friend who needs a heart hug too!
This is how YOU get to hug my HEART back!
Heart Hugs and Blessings,
Michele
