June is the month for romance and love. Most weddings take place at this time of year, because spring has broken forth and a young man’s fancy has turned to thoughts of – well you know.  Women get a little weird at this time of year as well.  There’s something about new life, fresh air and sunshine, Vitamin D, hormones and spring that makes our hearts soar.

In my search for a new word today, I came upon this one – besotted.  Since spring has already sprung, even here in the tundra, the word came at me with an instant glaring. To be besotted, one is literally intoxicated.  To equate love with drunkenness seems a bit bizarre, but when you think about it, falling in love often clouds the mind, just as adult beverages do.

Some synonyms for the word are – plastered, hammered, inebriated, wasted and impaired.  Anyone who has imbibed over their limit knows what that feels like.  You are out of control.  You often lose track of common sense.  You do things you wouldn’t otherwise do.  Your mind turns to mush.

Is this what happens when you fall in love?  We don’t like the idea of being out of control.  In fact, most of us feel we must be in control of our lives. We want to follow God’s commandments and be obedient to his will, yet we still feel the need to take an active part in our future and our every day living.  Still, as much planning and goal setting we do, there will be obstacles within those plans that side track us and lead us away from what God intended for us in the first place.

True love is much more than a romantic feeling or a word or phrase which sends our hearts reeling.  True love requires giving up, giving in and giving.  These are things we have a tendency to hang onto rather than throw out there.  We like the feeling of power.  We feel comfortable when we know what the future holds.  We like our ducks to be in a row and our goals to be met.  When love steps in, it changes the order we’ve established within our own lives.  Now we are responsible for another person. We must put them first.  We must do this without hesitation.

Well, that sounds almost as archaic as the word I’ve chosen today.  In our world today, we’re told we deserve all the gusto we can gather.  We’re entitled to things that are outside of our means.  We’re worth it.  We are numero uno.  This is a feeling that tends to dig deeply into our core.  We like the idea of being in control and worthy of the best life has to offer.

The truth is, we don’t deserve any special treatment.  We’re all sinful and fall short of God’s requirements.  When we think of love, words like sacrifice, commitment, caring, compassion, selflessness should be at the forefront.  These are words which describe how God loves us – words which we can imitate in our relationships with those we care about and love.

Today immerse yourself in love.  Not the romantic kind, but the unselfish love that God wants us to show one another.  When we put others first, we’re opening doors to a passion unknown.  We will be besotted –  filled to the brim with love unending.