Women, Math, and Love

I was riding in the car with a friend of mine this summer. As we were riding together, she was telling me about an event that had taken place between her and her husband that morning. As she's telling me the story, she makes the comment that she believes her husband is determined to find an equation that will help him to understand her. She then stated, "He's greatly mistaken by this idea, for there is no equation for me."

We both laughed in agreement that there is not and never will be a math equation in which women fit into to be understood.

Today love and relationships crossed my mind, as it does on most days. Being an analytical person and problem solver, I can't help but over analyze love. Much like my friends husband, I want to find an equation for love. I want to know that if I put a+b(c-d) I will get LOVE every time. 

I can't help but hear the same giggles and laughter from love, the same laughter my friend and I had when she mentioned the idea that women can be placed into an equation.

Here's the thing about love. Love has a few key ingredients that make it unpredictable. Love is made of mercy, grace, and forgiveness. When these three things are thrown into the mix, absolutely anything is possible. Wounds are healed, hearts are changed, minds gain new vision. They are the game changers. They are what make love so exciting. They are what make people sit for hours writing poems about love. They are what make us look into the face of a stranger and think "can I find love in you?"

For love has no face. Love can not be kept as a mere definition. Love is too big and too strong for a simple solution, simple equation. When you are as big as love, anything is possible.

When working with teenagers, love is always the topic of choice. I hear stories after stories of love and how it came together and how it fell apart. I sit and listen to each of them as they tell me their story. I sit and I show excitement in the exciting moments and show sadness in the sad ones. But the whole time I can't help but think, "You're missing it, dear. You're missing what love really is."

Sometimes I wish love were an equation. If it were, I would print them on business cards and pass them out to every person I came in contact with. It would make spreading love a whole lot easier. But the fact that love is not easy and cannot be printed out makes it so thrilling. It's what makes it worth waiting for and fighting for. 

Love is a big mystery and that's what makes it so enticing.