What We Learned About Love

And How It Shows Up Now 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to Roots to Restoration: Faith, Family, and Heal with Marie. In the last episode, we talked about what we carried without always realizing it. And how those early experiences can follow us into how we live today. But today we're going one step deeper into that. Because one of the biggest things we learned earlier in life is how to understand love. Sometimes what we call love today is actually something we learned a long time ago. First Corinthians 13 verses 4 to 5 reminds us love is patient, love is kind. It does not dishonor others. It is self-seeking. As children, we don't define love, we experience it through what we see, through what we hear, through what we feel. And whatever we experience, we begin to accept as normal. Even if it's incomplete, even if it's inconsistent, even if it's confusing. Sometimes love looks like being provided for, but not emotionally understood. Sometimes it looks like correction without explanation. Sometimes it looks like silence instead of comfort. As a child, you don't question it. You adjust to it. You learn this is what love looks like. Even if something inside you felt like it was missing, as you grow, those early experiences begin to show up. In how you connect with people, in what you accept, in what you tolerate. You may overgive to feel valued. Stay quiet to keep the peace. Or question yourself when something doesn't feel right. Not because you want to, but because it feels familiar. And many times, the way we learn love also shape how we learn to communicate. What we say, what we hold in, how we respond. And we'll go deeper into that in the next episode. But healing begins when you realize what you experience is not the definition of love. It was an experience of it. And you are allowed to learn a healthier understanding. God's love is not confusing, it is not inconsistent, it is not conditional. And when you begin to understand His love, everything else begins to shift. How you see yourself, how you see others, how you give and receive love? You are not stuck in what you learned earlier. You are growing. And that growth allows you to choose differently. Ask yourself, what did I learn about love growing up? And then ask, does that still align with who I am becoming? You can unlearn what was unclear. You can grow into something healthier. You can experience love differently, and that's part of your journey. Let us close with a prayer. Heavenly Father, help us understand love through your truth. Heal the areas where our understanding was incomplete or unclear. Guide us as we grow into something healthier. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for joining me on Roots to Restoration, faith, family, and healing with Marie. Be blessed and continue growing in faith, healing, and restoration one season at a time.