In love

Babies who are born blind still know how to smile. Isn't that amazing?

I've been reading a book called "A General Theory of Love." It's about the physiology of love and the way relationships (good ones!) keep us healthy both physically and emotionally. I've been fascinated to begin learning how the brain works in relation to emotion and its helped solidify my thoughts about living in community and church life in general.

I'd been one of those Christians who thought she could do it on her own. My relationship with God was a very private one, and I enjoyed it and, and I enjoyed my friends in church, but the two were always pretty mutually exclusive. Then life started catching up with me, and I didn't enjoy God or my friends. That's a pretty sucky place to be, and when you isolate yourself, it's a lot harder to get out of that place than you'd think. Don't get me wrong. They're are plenty of times when I've found the Lord as an individual, and I was in that valley, and He was always faithful. But sometimes when you don't have brothers and sisters (not just friends, but family) around, it's harder to remember exactly where you're from and who you are. Love shows you that when you can't show yourself.

The Lord literally wired us so that we couldn't live without love. "From birth to death, love is not just the focus of human experience but also the life force of the mind, determining our moods, stabilizing our bodily rhythms, and changing the structure of our brains. The body's physiology ensures that relationships determine and fix our identities. Love makes us who we are, and who we can become." (Preface, viii)

I think this is one of my favorite things about the Lord. He is Love, so in a spiritual, "other-realmy" sense, we are always in Love. But then on earth he gives us a people we get to share love with, and be "in love" with, so we are surrounded and filled with it. And that is such a beautiful thing.

*You might be thinking--of course she thinks love is such a beautiful and romantic thing, she's a newlywed. To that I have no defense except perhaps to say you ought to meet my husband, (who is a very caring and loving person, don't get me wrong!) before you assume I think love is equated with romance. Yes I am feeling lovie. So sue me.

*Drew if you're out there, thanks for the book.