Love is patient.

1 Corinthians 13:4 begins with the words "Love is patient".

How many times have i commented on Padrone's patience? How many times have i thought of how remarkable it is that He hasn't lost His patience with me more than once....or twice......or.....well, never mind.

i have thought so often about love, what it is and how to express it. i kept coming back to the description of love in the Bible, and the expression seems to come naturally to You, my Master. i honestly think one makes a choice to love. i believe that love is the ultimate action, not an emotion.

Let's face it, when we say "I love you", the verb (action word) is love. Love is something we do, not only something we feel. Yes, there are emotions involved, but the emotions are based on how someone's actions affect us. We tend to feel loving when someone's actions affect us positively, not so loving when they affect us negatively.

However, if we realize that love is something we choose to DO, then that changes things. When i finally chose to see that in terms of Padrone, it changed me dramatically. i finally began to look at what He would do and say, the ways He would show His love, rather than sighing and bemoaning the fact that the words "i love you" are rare from Him.

One of the first things i realized, when i did begin to look at His actions as evidence of His feelings, was that His incredible patience wasn't just because it is His nature to be so patient. He chose me a long time ago. He knew that when He chose to collar me that it would be an intimate, loving kind of relationship. He understood that He would have no choice but to be patient, to see how i developed, who i became as we got closer and the relationship deepened. He chose, long ago, to show His care for me by extending His amazing patience to include my growth as a woman and a slave.

Padrone, i know that i don't deserve the kind of patience You have shown towards me, except for the fact that YOU have chosen that i deserve it. i am honored, Padrone, by that, the fact that before You really knew me, You felt that i am deserving of Your love, as shown by Your amazing patience.

i am learning to love by being Your slave. i thank You, my Master.

i was made to love You,
i was made to find You,
i was made just for You,
Made to adore You,
i was made to love....and be loved by You...