That Sounds Fun by Annie F. DownsSample

DAY 5

Fall in Love

1 Corinthians 13:1–13; Matthew 22:37; John 11:3, 36

I fall in love constantly. I fall in love with ideas and I fall in love with the laughter of children. I fall in love with movies and I fall in love with recipes. I fall in love with the waiter who describes a wine perfectly and I fall in love with the handsome single man who volunteers at church. 

I’m not being crass with the word love. I feel love big. I feel everything very big. The more days I live on this planet, the more I am learning that I don’t have to control my feelings. I allow them to ride along with me anywhere I go. I need to feel them and hear them and pay attention to them—but not let them lead the way.

Love can lead, though.

It’s powerful to let yourself fall in love with something or someone. It shows a level of vulnerability when you admit to yourself that the emotion you feel is love. For some reason, there’s an understanding in Western culture that says we have to hold back our love. Don’t get too excited, don’t get too into something, be balanced and cool and don’t let anyone know how stoked you are. I’m calling a BIG NOPE on that because that’s not being wise; that’s being scared. Scared to stand out. Scared to tell the truth. Scared to really like something that other people don’t really like (that you know of).

You want to learn to have fun? Fall in love. Fall in love over and over every day with something and maybe someone. Yes, it’s going to hurt. But here’s the thing about love and vulnerability and saying yes to the big feelings even when they are scary: it makes your heart beat hard and fast. And that’s a good reminder that you are not dead. Because you aren’t. The thing you thought would kill you did not kill you. You lived. You are living. I hope every time you fall in love with a new pair of shoes or a soccer team or a person who has treated you better than you thought you could be treated reminds you of how very alive you are.

What holds you back from expressing your love?