Love

What is love? How do you define love? Can you love after being subjected to trauma? Do you know how to love?

Love is patient and never hard. Love is loving someone for who they are and NOT judge them for past descretions. Love is loving a person past fear, past the unknown of not knowing what the relationship brings and how it will turn out. Love is unconditional like GOD loves us.

As I think upon my life and the adversity I faced in the past, the love I had experienced in past relationships was not love. The reason why it wasn't love was because I didn't love myself enough to love someone else. I hated myself so bad because of the pain I endured and inflicted upon me I didn't want to live in this world. I thought love was sexual relationships with others because I didn't know how to love. But once I finally knew what love was I then began to love me more than ever before.

Often at times I wonder if I loved myself more back then, would my situation and/or outcome would be different from today. I believe it probably would have, and notice I said probably would have because I truly do not know. Now that I have healed from my past I can love someone who deserves love, because I now love myself.

My question to all my readers, do you know what love is? Can you love someone without passing judgement? Can you love past the pain you have experience in this life like GOD loves you?

Take a moment to reflect on your life past and present pain and find the strength within to love someone, whether its a family member, child, spouse or friend.

Sincerely,

Michelle A. Moorer, the author of "Shh..Don't Tell."