When I saw this couple walking in to do their shopping, I couldn't help but snap this picture. It truly is a picture of what love looks like in this world. It was a picture of kindness, thoughtfulness, and sensitivity - all the ingredients of love. You cant't tell it from the picture but this lovely lady is actually walking with a cane and had to move very slowly. Her husband, ever by her side, was so attentive to her. He was patient and didn't rush her. I noticed how he kept looking over at her to make sure she was doing fine. I also happen to think he looked at her so much because he enjoys seeing his beautiful bride - even after all the years together. And did you notice how they were holding hands? I sure did.
It got me thinking about what love looks like. So many people today are searching for it but may not even recognize it when they see it. Some have had it and lost it, leaving them heartbroken. Others think that they don't really need anyone or anything - but make no mistake, they are wrong. Everyone needs love. So let's pursue the proper perspective on what love looks like, shall we?
Love is transcendent and trans-formative. Real love is more powerful than humans can imagine. And yet, we can experience it and know it. Love serves, and sacrifices. When I think of loving someone, I think of it this way - I don't want something from them, I want something for them. It's putting someone else and their needs ahead of your own, but doing so joyfully. It may sound simple and easy enough, and maybe so under ideal circumstances. But what about when the unforeseen happens? I recall a young couple, happily married, and then the unthinkable happened. The husband became paralyzed in a swimming accident. He would spend the rest of his life unable to move his own body from the neck down. This meant that he was completely dependent upon the care of his wife. And care for him she did. I saw them often and she pushed him in that wheelchair for years. She cooked, cleaned, worked, and did it all. She bathed him and cleaned him after every bathroom trip. You know what she did? She loved him.
I've seen so many who have cut and run over the years. I was even surprised by something Lorie's oncologist, Dr. Jones, once told me. He said, "Jeff, what you do for Lorie is not normal. I see so many women in clinic whose husbands just don't show up, don't serve their wives, don't give. You are here for every appointment, you take care of her at home, and you have fought for her here, throughout the states, and even outside our borders. I've never seen this kind of commitment." When I heard that my heart sank. Why? Because I had done nothing extraordinary, I had simply loved my wife as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it. It was normal, it was natural. When he told me others didn't experience that, I was truly saddened to know that others were not loved well when they needed it most.
WHAT DOES LOVE LOOK LIKE? It is a question that screams out to all of humanity. Maybe love looks like a couple who were 15 years apart in age, but loved anyway. He was a construction supervisor who oversaw the expansion of Bryant Denny Stadium back when it was only Denny Stadium. He happened to fall in love with a girl named Eunice. I sure am glad that they fell in love. I wouldn't be here if they didn't, Andrew and Eunice were my grandparents. I told you that love transcends - even age, time, ethnicity, nationality, and even customs. You don't have to take my word for it, just read the book of Ruth from your Bible and then you'll know what love looks like. You will know.
To make it simple, love looks like two people walking hand in hand into a retail store side by side, even after all those years, still loving each other.
Live Your Legacy,
Jeff