Fruits of the Spirit: Love

Love is one of the fruits of the spirit that I feel has been one of the stronger ones for me.  Looking back on my life I have always had plenty of love for my husband, family, friends, and even occasionally for a stranger.  So definitely not perfect love, but I did have a lot to give around, or so I thought.

And then I had Kaylee.  I did not know my heart was capable of that much love.  Over the past 5 months that love for her has grown so much, and I cannot even imagine how much it will continue to grow throughout her life and also the lives of future children.  Please do not get me wrong; I am not trying to say you have to be a parent to experience an abundance of love.  But it is a different kind of love that I had never experienced before and I am not sure if it can fully be explained unless you are a parent.

I have found that my love not only has grown for my daughter, but also to my husband, family, friends, and even more so to those I do not know.  Sometimes I feel like my heart is just bursting with love for strangers whose stories I hear, whether they are encouraging ones or ones of struggle.  I even find myself having more compassion to that person walking down the aisle at Walmart who I might have otherwise passed unnecessary judgement on.  I still do not love perfectly, and I am not sure how to explain exactly why, but having a child has changed the way I love the world.  I thank God everyday for what a blessing she is to me and to everyone who sees her, and for allowing something so little to change me in such a big way.

How could you not love something as cute as this?