I read the same posting about unconditional love, etc and I had drawn almost the very same conclusions. I have known all along that I shouldn't just love blindly. Well, not true, you can love blindly, but you do not have to stay in a relationship blindly.
My pastor in Kansas City did a 4-week study on love, what it meant to love, distorted views of "Christian love", etc...
He said *A lot of people confuse love with niceness. They are NOT the same thing *People think love = doormat. They are NOT the same thing. *If you love yourself enough, you cannot sit idly by while someone you love treats you with disrespect/mistreatment *You can continue to love them, but it is okay to love from a distance, or to love but also enforce boundaries/consequences for the one who is acting foolishly/disrespectfully/harmfully
Anyway there was a lot more but the bottom line is you are right, a lot of us (me included) keep on plugging on thinking 'love will find a way'. And that 'love is a decision'. And yes, you CAN love someone, you can decide to love them with all of your strength, forever. But it doesn't mean they will decide to love you back, or to do it in the way you want/need to feel that love.
I hear you, K. And it is good that you are calm...
Are you still in work or are you off yet for the holiday? Take care, sis.
