Developing the ability to love anybody requires a handbook and a seat.
The handbook? That’s for the moments when you want to knock some sense into someone—figuratively, of course—because words just aren’t cutting it. And the seat? That’s for when you’re exhausted from explaining why you need space on your side of the bed, why your peace matters, or why your boundaries aren’t optional.
Love—whether romantic, familial, or the kind that stretches into friendship—isn’t for the faint of heart. People change. Not yearly. Not monthly. But daily. Moment by moment, issue by issue, peak by valley. One day, someone is your sunshine, and the next, they are a hurricane blowing through your carefully swept porch.
And yet…we venture into love anyway.
Why? Because God, the designer of it all, hardwired love into our DNA. He created love not to be an easy road but a refining one. Love stretches you. It humbles you. It will make you see your own reflection in the moments you want to point a finger.
Real love—God’s kind of love—requires patience when people are evolving in ways you don’t understand. It requires forgiveness when old wounds are reopened. It demands flexibility, knowing that the same person you adored yesterday may need a different version of you today.
But here’s the secret: every act of love is a seed. Every moment you choose grace over frustration, patience over anger, or prayer over pettiness, you water the garden of your own heart. And that garden grows stronger with each test.
So, the next time love feels like hard work, remember this: it’s supposed to. It’s the divine classroom we never graduate from, the lesson plan God authored Himself.
Reflection Question for Your Readers:
Where in your life is love inviting you to grow—not just feel?