So hold this feeling like a newborn

Fireflies.

Throughout life, we come across moments that are so impacting and so spectacular that they're simply indescribable. Despite our best efforts we couldn't possibly portray onto another human being what we've experienced or felt. The best things in life are like this. You can take a walk at midnight through an old field, a warm summer breeze brushing through the tall grass, and the dim illumination of distant street lights keeping you company. The tiny glowing bodies of thousands of fireflies light up the field as far as the eye can see, until somewhere in the darkness the scattered glow shifts into that of the distant flickering stars. An ocean of sparkling tranquility lies before you. Bright enough to warm your heart, but dim enough that no camera or camcorder could ever capture the moment. It's between you and God. Sacred and serene.

I've recently done a lot off discussing on the topic of relationships. A friend of mine and I were on a little hunt to put ease to what you could call 'commitment issues'. We wanted to find a real answer to that age old question, what is love? I understand fully the concept of love from a Godly perspective. I can wrap my head around the realms of accepting people as God created them, and trying to see the world through his eyes as he intended. I believe that in a sense, that's all love really is. Embracing freely what God created. But I guess I had never truly understood the concept of 'true love' between two individuals. I feel like love is one of those indescribable experiences that can't be shared through any other media but itself. People always say, "you just know when you're in love, you just know". They tell you that you can't stop thinking about the person, and you get butterflies and they make you happy. But we felt like that sounds a lot like infatuation, and if that's all love really is, then we would like to know before we waste our lives waiting for something deeper. One day I sat down to read a devotional called 'Living the message' by Eugene H. Peterson (the translator of The Message), and what I read that day lit up my darkness.

"Love penetrates the defences that have been built up to protect against rejection and scorn and belittlement, and it sees life as created by God for love."

Read that carefully.

Wow. Now you've got to understand that this sentence, for me, is the glue that put all of the pieces together. Let's think about this. The passage talks about how people often refer to love as, 'blind'. Which personally I find discouraging. This gives the illusion that love allows us to over look the flaws of another person to the extent that we can take them fully, but as something they're not. In reality it's quite the opposite. Hatred it blind. Think about it. If love, from an overall perspective is the ability to see the world through God's eyes, and embrace it as is, so then is love between two people. I've often heard that God will, in a sense, give you the person you are supposed to marry when you're ready. You know, these things happen on His time not ours. But i've failed to realize that what really happens is that at this time, when we are ready, God is allowing us to truly see this person. It could even be a person that you already know. At some point, God will allow us to see someone on this earth, as he created them, as he would truly want them to be seen and we accept them as is. Love is clear sighted.

Taking that same thought, but looking at it from the other side of the room, let's venture further. What is darkness? Darkness in itself is does not exist , it is only the absence of light. What is coolness? Coolness in itself, does not exist either, it can only be measured as the absence of heat. So in the in same way, I ask you what is hatred? Can we assume then, that hatred, in itself does not exist? It is only the absence of love. And love is all seeing. So if hatred is blind, if hatred is a blatant disregard for taking the time to observe the works of the Lord, than I ask you to open your eyes. You might just see something spectacular. Something that can't be shared. Like a field full of fireflies, or a heart full of love.