real love

     Yesterday I attended the home going service of a young lady, about my age that battled cancer. She was often referred to as “A Trooper”. One thing about her was that she never complained. Nobody knows what she told God in her quiet meditative moments. Every stage that she went through was with courage and determination. Yesterday I was looking at the obituary. I was reading the dedication that was written by her fiancé. As I read it my eyes began to well up with tears. Words are just words if there is no action behind them. It’s easy to tell someone that you love them when everything is going well. It’s easy to be around someone as long as they are not having a crisis. Love is one of those concepts that will be tested. Real love is developed through long suffering. Life is not always going to create a happy go lucky existence. Sometimes there will be trials that will shake the foundation of your inner peace. Eventhough she had challenges in her life, he never left her side. When she took her last breath, he was there.  Anyone that has had a loved one that battled cancer or any other terminal illness knows that it’s hard on the body; therefore it’s hard to watch someone that you know and love literally deteriorate right before your eyes. He loved her, beyond how aesthetically attractive she once was. He loved her for the person that he got to know when life wasn’t fair and all she could do was fight to stay alive. He loved her for the way she loved and cared for others, even when she couldn’t muster up the strength to do the things she used to do for herself. He loved her for the person she was inside. See many times we get it wrong. When I was reading his dedication, I began to cry because I realized that many people will never experience “REAL LOVE”. Love is not about sex. "REAL LOVE" is not about material gain or a person’s physical appearance. Real love is the support that a person shows during the times when others don’t have the courage to stick it out with you. Real love is when a person will cry with you in your adversity, then pray with you and for you even when you don’t have the strength to pray for yourself. Real love is when a person will rush to your side and hold your hand and comfort you as you take your last breath. It’s unselfishly releasing you from your earthly body because they can’t bear to see you suffer. God will send you the people that you need. It is imperative that we recognize angels when they are assigned to us for a specific purpose! Galatians 5:22-23-But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things, there is no law.