True Love

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True Love

by Tammy Madden

When you hear those two words, “true love,” you automatically picture two people in love, walking hand in hand at 80 years old after years of marriage. But sometimes true love is so much more than that. This is the story of what true love is to me.

I believe God places us on this earth for a reason. Each of us has a job to do, and as long as we do the job our Heavenly Father set before us, He is pleased. I also believe the meaning of true love does not always come in the form of a man and a woman in love. I believe it can be something God has laid out

for us, and without true love in your heart, you may never really know what the love of God is all about.

This is the story of a young girl who has given her whole life to care for others instead of herself. Her name is Tabitha, and she is my niece. You see, 17 years ago, my precious baby daughter had to have a heart transplant, and in the midst of all that, she sustained a severe brain injury. Tabitha was just 14 years old at the time. However, she forgot about doing normal teenage things and literally moved in with me (with my sister’s permission) to help us with our daughter. She became a sister to her instead of a cousin. She helped with her baths, her feedings through a feeding tube, and her many, many medicines that were given multiple times a day. She fought to get her back to us both physically and mentally. She was my angel.

Many years passed, and she went on to marry and have children of her own. She was only married for two years and had two children when her big sister was tragically killed in a car accident. True love. Both she and her husband took on all three of her sister’s babies. She now had five kids under 3 years old. Her husband did not have to do this, and neither did she. Just two months after that, her husband’s sister died suddenly, leaving behind her 13-year-old and her 15-year-old. Again, true love. They took them in. In a matter of two years’ time, they went from a newly married couple to a young couple with seven kids. Soon, she had another baby of her own. She now had eight kids. This, to me, my friends, is what true love really is. This is God’s work! We think we know what true love is, but until you have witnessed someone give up their plans, their career, and their family to help a child in need, well, my friends, this is true love! John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” I believe this to be not only about a person dying for someone but about giving up things for others. To me, that is true love, a love that God gives us deep in our souls. You see, during all this time, while this beautiful soul was taking care of all these children, her father was dying, and her mother became very ill. She cared for her father until he went home with Jesus and to this day cares for her mom and the six children she has left at home.

True love is definitely not always about a man and a woman in love. True love is about the love God puts in our hearts that we are to give away to others throughout our lifetimes. Don’t keep that love in your heart locked away. Always remember to love one another, and always look around and see what your true love is.

About The Author My name is Tammy Madden. I am 52 years old and live in the beautiful foothills of North Georgia in Chatsworth. I am married for 35 wonderful years to my amazing husband, Gene and we have a beautiful teenage daughter named Megan.