And I thought: that's what I'm looking for. Not a love where I disappear into someone else. Not a love where I hold myself separate to stay safe. But a love where I can be fully present, fully myself, and still be with someone else fully. Where both people remain whole.

I think the confusion happened because I was taught that love means sacrifice. And it does. But sacrifice doesn't mean erasure. Jesus gave everything, but he never stopped being Jesus. He never became less himself. He was fully present while also being in relationship. That's what I think real love looks like.

So maybe the work for me is learning how to love without disappearing. Learning how to be generous without being diminished. Learning how to stay connected to myself—to my own thoughts, my own spirit, my own relationship with God—while also being truly present with another person.

That's harder than just giving everything. It requires more awareness, more honesty, more boundaries. But I think it's also what my faith is actually calling me toward. 💕 Can someone really be loved by me if the person they receive is only a fragment of who I actually am? Isn't the truest gift to offer someone my whole self—conscious, intact, and choosing them?