LOVE is...

Lately, I've been learning about true love from my mother. I have seen how strong she is throughout the years living with my father, especially at times when my father seemed so hard to be loved.

I always love the Bible verse about LOVE that says, 

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 trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Cor 13: 4-7)

It sounds beautiful isn't it? But in reality, it takes a great heart to love that way.

When I took time to really watch my mother, I learned a lot from her about love and about commitment. Despite of the hard times she's been having with my father, she's the person who cares about my father the most. She took care of my father when he's sick and put up with his bad attitudes. Although sometimes she would tell me how tired she is but she always said that I should respect my father no matter what and for sure, she always stands for his honor in front of everybody. I've seen that most of the time my father doesn't really appreciate her the way she should be appreciated but still she always be the one who cares about the details of my father's needs. I've seen her hurting for so many times and I've also seen her releasing her forgiveness every single time. My mother chose to love and pray for my father every single day and that's her commitment. She never give up on my father and her marriage. 

My mother's commitment to her marriage is what's keeping her love towards my father despite of the hard times and tough situation. Commitment is about doing the things that you should do despite of what you feel or what situation you're in. People might think that's a foolish thing to do but remember that nothing is ever in vain if you have the right heart to begin with. My mother's commitment is what's keeping the family intact. My mother's commitment is the real example for me and my brother about what marriage is all about.

To every man out there, if you are blessed with a lovely wife who loves you no matter what and at all cost. Appreciate her, love her, respect her and honor her because you'll never know the strength and the decision she made every single day to love you in bad and good times and believe me, the power of a praying woman is so strong that God will stand up on her behalf. 

If people ask me how does the LOVE in the verse on Corinthians looks like? I'd say it looks like my mother's love to my father. sweet, strong and forgiving.