"The Love Doctor"

Am I destined to become the expert on love? It's a topic that I barely know anything about myself, that almost none of us will ever know anything about. It's a topic that scares me, that fear that I fight on a daily basis because I know that what I have is wonderful.

My roommate asked me today how does anyone know they are in love. I couldn't answer her, but the question has stayed on my mind. What I've come up with is probably little to what the actual answer is, but after considering that, I realize that there is no actual answer.

The dictionary defines love as (1) A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness; (2) A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair, the emotion of sex and romance; (3) An intense emotional attachment; (4) A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction.

To me:
Love is when you walk blindfolded into a room and when you open your eyes, they are the only person you can see.
Love is when you are thousands of miles away from that person, and you miss them dearly, but can still function in your daily life.
Love is giving up your life-long dreams just to stay with that person if they asked you to, but knowing they never would.
Love is forgiving painful mistakes.
Love is crying when that person tells you they love you.

But I think the bible says it best:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record or wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)

(Revisions to come, I promise that one.)