Love is a Choice

Before I had kids, I never fathomed how much I could actually love someone. I may have "loved" my parents, "loved" my siblings or even "fell in love" with that special someone. But the love that poured from my soul when I first held that precious sleeping baby could not be matched. I may have been scared, but I knew that I would love this little child, no matter what.

As my journey in mothering continues I've realized that often love is a choice. It's a decision, not a feeling. When my 2-year-old throws a tantrum, or my kids are are fighting and I am at the end of my rope, I don't feel so loving. But I know I still love them. When my feelings are hurt by a friend, or even my spouse I don't want to love. But I am called to love. When my husband doesn't tell me he loves me, my love for him must continue.

"Mommy, do you love me?" Of course we, as mothers, love our children. They cannot begin to understand how loved they are. And you know what? God loves them too. Even more than we love them. How can that be? God sacrificed his son so that we - each one of us - could become children of God.

when i hear "Mommy, do you love me?" I look in to my child's eyes and tell him or her that i love them. & repeat it, again and again. "I love you. I love you.
I really love you."


"I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us."
(Charles Dickens)