“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:2

Many of us have heard this Bible verse, possibly at a wedding or an anniversary. In my opinion it should be read in a high school to teenage students. Perhaps to the young adults that claim to love each other, after dating for two weeks. Love isn’t just a word that we can say to make one another happy, it’s an action. Not the type of action where a card and flowers can make it “true love.” They think that they are “walking the walk” just because they spend money on their better half. When I say love is an action I mean that it requires continuous work.

Even though love can feel so right and simple, it still takes a lot of work. Love isn’t just a passionate or overmastering desire or craving. No, that is the definition of lust, not love. Other definitions for lust include “pleasure or delight, desire, inclination, and to wish for something or someone”. A lot of people in society today believe that they have found true love, or that they truly love each other, when all they love is the sexual appeal of that person. When I hear a “love song” on the radio, it will almost always be referring to lust rather than love.

True love is taking care of a loved one even if they are extremely sick or elderly, and not complaining about it. My sister almost lost her life when she was 16. She was in the hospital for two and a half weeks. My mother spent those two and a half weeks sleep deprived and worried. Her faith remained strong as she spent most of her hours praying rather than sleeping. She had her patience tested every time she would ask a nurse a question, that they couldn’t answer. Mom never blamed Cindy for getting sick, nor has she been angry or discouraged with her. Instead she trusted and waited by her bed side, until she was able to come back home. “Love is patient and kind.”

True love is being able to live with the same person for 36 years and not think once about leaving them. My dad is outgoing and talks to everyone. Whether it be a stranger on the street or an old friend, male, or female, he talks to everyone. I have never once seen my mother get jealous over him talking to other women. She knows that they have true love, and she has no reason to be worried. “Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.”

True love is making sure their kids get enough food to eat, even if that means they miss supper for the night. In our world there are many mothers who give up their food on a daily basis in order that their kids might have food to eat. They make so many sacrifices on a daily basis that I couldn’t even imagine making five times in my entire life. Yet they, manage to do it every single day. “It does not demand its own way.”

True love is saying words we don’t mean because we are angry at the time and still, we are forgiven no matter what. Most of us have either read, watched the movie, or at least heard about the magically romantic story, “The Notebook” written by Nicholas Sparks. In the book he wrote: “They didn’t agree on much. In fact, they didn’t agree on anything. They fought all the time and challenged each other every day. But despite their differences, they had one important thing in common. They were crazy about each other.” True love is being so crazy about each other that time just seems to fly by, we forget where we are, we forget who is watching, and we even forget what we should be doing. It’s being so crazy in love with them, even though we are being driven crazy. “It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.”

True love is teaching children the basic character traits in order to be successful in life. My father always did his best to teach all five of his daughters the values that he found important as well as the difference between right and wrong. I remember one of the times I let my father down. It wasn’t when I lost an FFA competition, or messed up the last play of a softball game, or even when I let the wrong cow out of the pen when we were separating them (which I have managed to do plenty of times in my 17 years of being on the farm). No, the time my father seemed the most disappointed in me was when I had a driving incident and I decided it would be best not to tell him about it. I had managed to go off a gravel road into the nearby waterway of our neighbor’s field. I notified the neighbor first thing, and begged him not to tell my father. The next day when the van had three flat tires on it, Dad came home and asked, “Chrissy, do you have anything you want to tell me?”

I thought he was just being funny so I answered with “I love you daddy.”

He then looked down in the sink as he was washing his hands and described all the gravel, dirt, and debris from the plants he had found shoved up underneath the tires of our van while he was changing the three flat tires. He looked back up. I thought he was going to be so angry that I was afraid to look at him. When I finally did get the courage to look him in the eye, he looked like he was going to cry. I asked why he looked so sad and he replied with “You lied to me, and you’ve never done that before. Even though it was an indirect lie, it was still wrong. You know better than to do that, and I know that you know the difference between right and wrong. I’m extremely disappointed in you for not telling me what happened, and for trying to get my friend to keep it a secret as well.” I have never tried to keep news from him since that day, because I know that it is wrong, and I know that he is most likely to find out about everything. My father has done an amazing job of teaching me very important life lessons, as well as many character traits and moral values that have shaped me into the young adult that I am today. “It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.”

True love is having a limited number of outfits to wear, so that the man of the family has money to buy the suits that he is required to wear for work. My grandmother had about four outfits that she wore, they all served a different purpose. She had one outfit for church, one to sleep in, one for around the house, and one for the outside farm chores. All of her own outfits were hand made and sewed as well as clothes for her seven children. She never gave up. Even when her fingers were tired and hurting, she kept sewing because she knew the kids needed clothes. Every piece of material was saved and scrapped until absolutely nothing was left of it. Grandma never lost faith that they would be taken care of and that they would never go without clothes. “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

Love is a big part of our society. Whether it be true love, or lust, people still have love somewhere in their life. I am thankful and blessed that I have had examples throughout my life to show me what true love is. I hope that more people start to realize what true love is, and start to follow the examples left for us by past generations, rather than follow the path our generation is headed down. “Three things will last forever - faith, hope and love - and the greatest of these is love.”