Thanks for joining me for this series! We still have quite a few more songs and the-stories-behind-them to look forward to exploring together. Today is the story and meaning behind song number five, and just in time for Valentine's Day...
Love in words & music,
~Tara
The Art of a Song: "What It Means to Be Loved"
I think this is my favorite song on the album to listen to while driving. It somehow just rolls along the miles. Try it, if you haven’t already. I think you’ll like it. ;)
This song was written with a friend in mind who was struggling with what most of us struggle with at some point in our lives—defining love and our self-worth through the lens of singleness and feeling like we are lacking something. It’s that feeling of “everyone else I know is happily dating or married” or whatever the case is (which isn’t actually the case at all but feels oh-so-true scrolling through our social media feeds filled with wedding & baby announcements and perfect date photos). And my heart ached for her. Mostly because I could relate. I knew what it felt like. I was single at the time as well, and it was an ongoing battle—one I just happened to be on the upside of at that moment. Years of dating and singleness had started to chip away at my preconceived notions.
So I got to thinking about how we define love. I am kind of a nerd and keep a hand-written journal of movie and literature quotes that speak to me in a special way. Snippets of the film P.S. I Love You floated through my mind, and I remembered how she talks about the different kinds of love. There are so many avenues of love in our lives each day aside from romantic love: the love of God, family, a good friend; a faithful dog or pet; the kids we have, teach, or babysit; the people we work with who care about us when we are out sick or going through a difficult time; the love we have for others; and what we are passionate about in this life—just to name a few.
Love is SO much bigger than what we’ve made it. 1 Corinthians 13 defines love as qualities, not as something, or someone, that has to come and rescue us from our singleness. They are qualities we can embrace no matter our marital or dating status, whether we have children or not, whether our lives look like the average household or the unique. Why have we reduced it to one thing? That’s not to say that romantic love isn’t beautiful and exciting because it is, but that doesn’t mean our lives aren’t full of love when we don’t have that one specific kind of love. Why are we always searching for something that’s right in front of us?
This song is for all of you who know that feeling all too well—of searching and waiting, of feeling not good enough, of finding and then losing. It's also for those of you who are on the upside of this as a reminder to reach out and show more love to those around you in different ways. We can all be more aware of those who need love and be more open to receive love, not only in the ways the world tells us we should, but in all of the wonderful opportunities that God has put into our lives every, single day.
I hope this song reminds you to count all of the beautiful ways love threads through your life and the depth of what it truly means to be loved. (Ephesians 3:14-19)