"I love you"

What is love? A lot of people know, and a lot of people THINK they know. To me, love is what it says in the bible. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It does not keep a record of wrong doings, does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting. Love NEVER fails. That’s what I think love is; whether it’s loving the opposite sex, or loving your friends or family.

Saying “I love you” is overrated, seriously. I hear so many people saying to their boyfriends and girlfriends that they love them. But do they really? Yes, I’m sure some of them mean it, but others, have no idea what love is. When I hear someone say “I love you” to their boyfriend, I think, “I wonder if they really do love them. A few days later, I find out that they left him for someone else, got sick of him, or cheated. I guess they weren’t “in love” with that person. I am very very careful when it comes to saying I love you. If one of my guy friends says they love me, I make sure they mean friendly love, and only that, before I say it back. Love is a very important and big word to use; and I’m not talking about with your family and friends. I’m talking about the love that you say to the person you will spend the rest of your life with. I have not found that person and don’t think I will for a while.  That is totally fine with me, because I am not going to rush into anything. Right now, I don’t need that person; but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he’s right in front of me. Who knows? But I don’t need to be telling boys that I’m in love with them. What I can do though, is show them God’s love. That may sound kind of weird to some of you, but let me explain. We can show God’s love by loving people; such as being nice to them, welcoming them, teaching them, etc. In the bible, it says but now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Chatchada, the Thai foreign exchanged student has recently been spending a lot of time at my house with my dad, Tina, and me. I brought her over one day so she could meet my step mom, Tina because they are from the same country and speak the same language. We all hung out and had a lot of fun together but sometimes my dad and I would leave them so they could talk in their own language. When chacha left, Tina told me that Chatchada told her that she was so thankful for me because at the beginning of the year, she had no idea what she was doing and nobody really talked to her. She told her that I was the first one to help her and be nice to her. I had helped her find Mr. Demuth about soccer information. I had no idea how much that meant to her; something so little, made a huge difference to her. Tina told me that she looks up to me so much and talks so good and nicely about me. I had no idea she thought that about me, but it made me very happy.

So even if I have not found the love of my life, I don’t have to be down or sad because I can show people God’s love through my actions and through loving others. I never saw that until Chacha brought it up; and with showing her that love, we were able to tell her about God and what he’s done for us. She was so curious and seemed like she was looking for something. I’ve never seen someone so desperate for something greater than you or me; but she was, and she found Him; Jesus Christ. Now she can go out and show people His love through herself.