Is Real Love Possible in Today's World?

People have been heartbroken so many times by broken relationships that many doubt that authentic love is even possible. If we doubt something is possible, we cannot make it happen. When we believe in something, we can strive for it. We can start over after we have been hurt by betrayal, abuse, abandonment, or infidelity, but first we must believe that real love is "for real," that it is possible to find in today's world.

I believe real love exists in our world. I have seen it. I have experienced it. I have been inspired by it. I have felt it. Below are some examples of what I have witnessed in my own life.

My "kids" all seem to truly care for each other. Kevin, the oldest has always connected in a special way with the needs of his younger siblings and cousins. Even when he speaks to them, he bends down to their level, making each one feel his genuine concern for them. He seemed to naturally assume the role of caregiver. Maybe his kindness was "caught" by the others, because they are all very good at sharing and looking out for one another with genuine love. The hugs between Elly and Hannah, and Lukas and Levi, are an expression of a beautiful sisterly and brotherly love. When Kathleen runs into my arms, I feel the love. Even when Brandon runs away from my hugs, I feel the love in the game of chasing him until I catch him to sneak a squeeze or a pat on the head.

My Allison is a fiercely competitive athlete who strives for excellence in all that she does. She absolutely hates to lose, and in the category of love, she always seems to win.

When she was six, I observed her noticing her little sister shivering in her lightweight sweater, and without any hesitation, she removed her warm sweatshirt and gave it to Kathleen. That same little girl insisted that I open her Christmas present for me before she opened any of hers; she was so excited to give me the Browns gloves she had purchased, because she knew I was a crazy fan!

One night we took the "kids" to a baseball game. Each child received a free baseball as a promotion that night. When we were driving home, one of the girls realized she didn't have her ball and began to cry. It apparently had fallen out of her bag. We looked and looked for it, but concluded that she had probably lost it at the game.

Allison knew how sad Elly was and when someone around her is sad, she always seems to personally feel their heartache. After arriving home and having snacks, I noticed Allison was not with the others. I found her in my van in the garage crawling around looking for the missing ball. Even though others had seemed to move on, she was still trying to heal someone else's pain.

True love is other-centered. It is selfless. Allison possesses a true servant heart. She knows how to love.

* * *

One of the Core Team members of my Youth Group, who has been confined to a wheelchair for years, was a part of his high school football team as the team manager for four years. John had attended all practices and served his teammates in the many, sometimes gross ways a manager does.

On senior night, his team wanted to show how invaluable John was to them. The quarterback called John's number when they got into the Red Zone. John rolled out onto the field and took the handoff from his quarterback. Both sides of the entire stadium erupted into deafening cheers when John drove his wheelchair, into the end zone and scored. The love and appreciation of a team, the support of the fans, the thoughtfulness of a crowd of strangers were beautiful to behold.

Love is empathetic; we try to put ourselves into the shoes of another. Love is kind.

* * *

I attended a memorial dinner for Peter, one of our young diocesan leaders who had been a dog handler in the Marines. Dog handlers are teamed with another Marine, which happens to be a dog, and together they go out on the roads and into buildings to find explosives before they explode and kill others.

Duke had sniffed out a roadside bomb, and he and Peter were doing their job of waiting for the Marines, who were trained to defuse bombs, to arrive. While he was waiting, Peter took out his Bible as he often did. It calmed him to pray.

An assassin shot and killed Peter while he was praying his Bible, sitting with his dog, Duke.

The loss we all felt was horrific. Peter was a selfless, gentle soul who loved his God, his family and friends, and his fellow Marines. He loved life, and offered true friendship and loyalty to others. He brought joy into the room because he appreciated others and celebrated life: one of his favorite mottos was, "Life is short, eat dessert first."

The surviving officer, the dog was the guest of honor at the memorial ceremony. The dog suffered severely from the trauma of having lost his buddy, the young man who had trained him, served by his side, and loved him. During the dinner, the dog was presented as a gift to Peter's family who had chosen to adopt him.

Although the grief stricken Duke had been traumatized and quite aloof toward humans since his beloved Marine had died, something special happened that night. Duke immediately went to Peter's little brother and nuzzled close to him; he looked so much like his big brother, the Marine, who had died by Duke's side on the battlefield.

Duke instinctively sensed the love of family, that connectedness which cannot be broken by death, and he immediately became part of Peter's family. He followed them everywhere; he felt safe, loved, and connected as he had felt with Peter, his trainer, his buddy, and his friend.

Oh, by the way, after Peter's funeral there was a city-wide reception in a very large gathering hall. The packed house of people, who came to honor and thank this young Marine, were treated to tables and tables and tables of homemade desserts, donated by the community. Hanging from the...