Love has become one of the most misunderstood things in our culture.
We’re taught to protect ourselves before we connect with others. To stay guarded. To never care too much. To avoid looking “soft.” Somewhere along the way, vulnerability became something to hide instead of something to honor.
Maybe that’s why genuine love feels so rare.
I’ve been thinking about that lately.
Not because I’ve figured love out, but because I’ve realized how often we’re encouraged to become less of ourselves after experiencing disappointment. We get hurt, so we become distant. We get betrayed, so we become suspicious. We give our heart away once, and suddenly we’re convinced the safest thing to do is lock it up forever.
The problem is that protecting your heart and hiding it aren’t the same thing.
One is wisdom.
The other is fear.
We Were Created to Love
When you watch children interact with the world, you notice something beautiful.
Before they’re taught to be cautious, they naturally reach for connection. They laugh easily. They forgive quickly. They trust freely.
Even animals remind us of this.
A dog doesn’t spend the day calculating whether it’s safe to be excited that you’re home. It simply loves because that’s its nature.
I wonder how much of our own nature gets buried beneath life’s disappointments.
Maybe the journey isn’t about learning how to love.
Maybe it’s about remembering how.
Love Doesn’t Make You Weak
Some people mistake kindness for weakness.
Others confuse compassion with naivety.
I’ve never believed that.
I think choosing love in a world that rewards cynicism takes incredible strength.
It doesn’t mean allowing people to mistreat you.
It doesn’t mean abandoning healthy boundaries.
It simply means refusing to let someone else’s actions determine the condition of your heart.
You can love someone and still protect your peace.
You can forgive someone and still create distance.
You can wish someone well without inviting them back into your life.
Love and wisdom were never meant to compete.
They’re meant to work together.
Stop Apologizing for Having a Big Heart
For a long time, I wondered if I loved too deeply.
I questioned whether caring so much would eventually become a liability.
But I’ve come to realize something.
The goal isn’t to become less loving because the world is hurting.
The goal is to remain loving without allowing the world to harden you.
That’s a different kind of strength.
There will always be people who misunderstand your kindness.
People who mistake your compassion for weakness.
People who only know how to receive love but never give it.
Don’t let their limitations redefine who you are.
God Is Love
One of the simplest yet deepest truths in Scripture is that God is love.
Not that God has love.
Not that He occasionally shows love.
Love is His nature.
If we’re growing closer to Him, shouldn’t we also become more loving?
Not more judgmental.
Not more bitter.
Not more defensive.
More loving.
That love won’t always look the same.
Sometimes it looks like forgiveness.
Sometimes it looks like grace.
Sometimes it looks like walking away peacefully instead of arguing.
Sometimes it simply looks like praying for someone who never apologized.
Love wears many faces.
But it never stops being love.
Love Freely, Not Fearfully
I’ve realized something about love.
It’s one of the few things that becomes greater the more you give it away.
Encouragement costs nothing.
Kindness costs little.
Compassion multiplies.
The world tells us to ration our love because we might run out.
God reminds us that love was never ours to manufacture in the first place.
We receive it.
Then we pass it on.
A Final Reflection
If you’ve been hiding parts of yourself because someone mishandled your heart, I hope you remember this:
Don’t let one person’s inability to love you convince you that your capacity to love is the problem.
Protect your peace.
Honor your boundaries.
Learn your lessons.
But don’t stop being the person God created you to be.
The world doesn’t need more guarded hearts.
It needs more healed ones.
And healed people have a remarkable way of reminding everyone around them that love is still possible.
So today, love someone.
Encourage someone.
Pray for someone.
Forgive someone.
Smile at a stranger.
Be patient with yourself.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to let your heart remain soft in a world that often celebrates hardness.
Because love has never been weakness.
It has always been one of the greatest strengths we’ll ever possess.
Peace, family.
And as always…
I love you.
But most importantly,
God loves you.
–Psstol
#psstolspeaks
Watch this weeks video here.
