Love Glasses

More than sixteen years ago, as the due date of the birth of my second son approached, I became increasingly concerned about whether I could love my second son as much as I loved my first.  Allow me to explain:

At the time, I felt like I loved my first son with everything I had.  In my mind, to have any love saved up or left over for any other child was not loving my first son properly and so I was consumed with the thought that I could not possibly conjure up any more love for the second.  I knew how unfair that would be to him and I was afraid I couldn’t be a fit mother to him.

The second he was born, I found out what all mothers know: Love grows!

A couple of weekends ago, I attended my 30^th high school reunion.  I went to a very small high school and though our graduating class was the largest in the school’s history at the time (we only had 83 members!) it was still easy for us to know and have a great foundation of love and respect for each other. 

Being that I had helped in the planning of the reunion, I knew that some alumni had not attended any of our previous reunions and so I wondered how we would relate after not seeing each other in 30 years.  We had such a good time catching up and just spending time loving on each other!  It just was astounding to find out that despite time and distance, not only does love grow, love endures.

I have mentioned I am part of a group of women who are studying a book called, Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  Last night we discussed a chapter about marriage.  The women in our group vary in age, life experience and marital status.  What we learned from those wise women who have been married for long periods of time and those who were married more than once and from one who is widowed is that despite the vast differences between men and women, love forgives, does not hold grudges, and is eternal.

By now you know that I am a big proponent for knowing that whatever you believe in and are passionate about is what you will find on a day to day basis.  Simply put, you find what you want to find.  It’s easy to see the “bad stuff” in this life; it’s in your face.  But I believe if we look hard enough, we can find the “good”.  I consider love a good thing and so I will put on my “love glasses” each day and find out how I can continue to expand my definition of love.  Surround yourself with people who exemplify the “good” and glean from them.  They’re probably right under your nose.

-Tessa L. Charles