Love is never divided, only multiplied

“It is not good for man to be alone.”—God, Genesis 2:18

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”—Adam, Genesis 2:23

“If we all give more to each other, we all end up with more for ourselves.” –My nephew Alex Farnsworth, in a Facebook post December 6, 2010

“Love is never divided, only multiplied.”—My reply to his post

You hear stories of people who say, “Our love grows every day”, or “We work hard to keep our love this strong.”  God has certainly blessed me, because my love for Marilyn is stronger today than it was when I proposed to her, and it’s never been an effort for me to be in love or to stay in love with her. I thank God every day that He created Marilyn so that I would not be alone.  I think often of what keeps our love for each other so strong.  It’s because we’ve never had to “work” at our love.  It is so hard to put into words because there are too many words to describe our love.  It just exists.

What has made our love stronger is discovering that love is never divided, only multiplied.  There is nothing like the love of a parent for a child. And that love strengthens the bond between the husband and wife.  When Marilyn told me she was pregnant, I was worried. I didn’t know anything about raising a child! Worse, would our baby require so much love from Marilyn that I would be less loved?  Alicia, from day 1 of her life, answered that question for me. When I was in the delivery room, I watched as Alicia’s face appeared and she looked right at me!  At that moment, I knew what paternal love is about; it’s an unconditional, no-holds-barred head-over-heels love that is complementary, not competitive with marital love, and nothing can take it away.

A couple of years later, Marilyn told me she was pregnant again. Again, I was worried. I loved Alicia so much, how could I ever love another child so much? Would I have to “split” my love for them? Again, I didn’t have to worry. The minute Sarah was born, God gave me the grace to multiply my paternal love. I love each of my daughters the same—boundlessly. It has given me an understanding of just how much our Heavenly Father must love each of us!

I rediscovered this feeling at the birth of each of my grandchildren.  There is Lily, who brightens my life every single day with her own discoveries of love for God and others.  Josephine is every bit a reminder of the curiosity and unfettered love we all begin our lives with.  Paloma (‘Dove’, in Latin), is named for the symbol of the Holy Spirit, and she reminds me of the third person of the Trinity Who is best described as the Love of the Father for the Son and the love of the Son for the Father.

Is there a limit to the love we can get or receive?  God allows us to set the limit.  The more we give, the more we receive.  My question is, why would anyone want to stop giving or receiving love?