One Word, Five Voices: Beloved

Beloved means so much more than just your plain, everyday type of love. I can love tacos, but they're not beloved. I can love watching ridiculous reality TV, but those shows are far from beloved.

Beloved conjures a slew of mushy words—cherished, precious, adored—but it's a love that has a certain intimacy and closeness that run-of-the-mill love can't come close to. It's a deeper, more spiritual love that can cover a multitude of wrongs.

Though I'm sure we still have a lot to learn, 11 years of marriage has taught Ryan and I that even when we don't like each other, we can still love each other. But loving in spite of ourselves doesn't come from us—it's something we can't do on our own. Loving each other when we can't stand each other comes purely from God. It's when we sit in His love that we are able to look at each other the way He sees us.

Because He first loved us, we are able to love each other fully.

I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.    —Song of Songs 6:3

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 Check out what my friends think of today's word on their blogs: Shawn, Heather, Steph and Brian.