What Love Means To Me

For me, love has been both beautiful and complicated. It’s been joy and heartbreak, peace and pain, all in one. I’ve loved someone so deeply that I gave parts of myself away without realizing I was slowly disappearing. I thought love meant giving everything, doing everything, and holding everything together. But I had to learn the hard way that love should never make you lose yourself, and it should never come before God.

I’ve been in love before though, the kind that feels like home and chaos all at once. The kind where you see potential more than reality. I wanted to believe love could fix everything if I just tried harder, prayed harder, stayed longer. But what I learned is that love without God at the center will always fall apart eventually, because it’s built on emotion instead of foundation.

Love taught me patience, not just with people, but with myself. I had to learn that healing isn’t rushed, and real love doesn’t demand that you shrink. I used to think love meant never giving up on someone, but sometimes the real act of love is letting go, so both of you can grow into who God called you to be.

Love also taught me protection. I used to think protecting someone else meant sacrificing myself. But now I understand it’s about covering your heart and your peace, too. God didn’t call me to be anyone’s savior, He already filled that role. My job is to love with wisdom, not to break myself trying to hold someone together.

Love taught me freedom. Real love doesn’t control, it releases. It doesn’t silence your truth, it honors it. It’s being able to be fully yourself and still feel safe, seen, and supported. If love costs you your voice, your peace, or your purpose, it’s not love, it’s attachment.

And love taught me action. Love isn’t what you say, it’s how you show up. It’s grace when you could choose pride. It’s forgiveness when you’d rather close your heart. It’s praying for someone even after they hurt you, not because they deserve it, but because you deserve peace.

But most importantly, love taught me about God. When I thought I lost love, I realized I found Him. His love never wavered. He met me right in my brokenness and reminded me I was still chosen, still covered, still worthy. God’s love showed me that I don’t have to beg for what’s meant for me, and I don’t have to lose myself trying to be loved.

Now, I love differently. I love from a healed place, not a hurting one. I love slower, wiser, and with boundaries. I don’t chase love anymore; I attract it by being who God called me to be. Because when you love God first, He teaches you how to love yourself and from that, you learn how to love others the right way.

At the end of the day, love to me is about alignment. So when I say “I love,” it’s not a light statement, it’s a reflection of everything I’ve been through, everything I’ve overcome, and everything I continue to become. It’s patience, protection, freedom, action, and faith all working together. It’s giving without losing yourself, trusting without fear, and healing without hate. Because real love doesn’t just change your relationship status, it changes who you are.