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Writer's pictureAnna-Marie

So This Is Love


"Swan Dance" by Janelle Ryan

What is love?


Such a question has the capacity to elicit debate, stir the waters of memory (whether painful or beautiful), and set off emotional triggers. It is a question that seeks objectivity but is necessarily lived out in the realm of subjective personal experience. It is a question that countless poets, artists, writers, musicians, philosophers, and theologians have sought to respond to based on their own lived realities and the realities they experience in the world around them.


If we were to take a page out of the book of our culture, or out of the story of the many broken relationships that make up our human existence, we might describe love (or the human pursuit of love) as any of the following:


A mood/emotion, fleeting, disposable, free of boundaries or responsibilities, instantaneous, short-lived, volatile, passionate, fragile, self-centered, self-seeking, pleasure-seeking, commitment-averse, fearful, tolerant, rewarding, triumphant, competitive, envious, sensational...the list goes on.


It is easy to find examples of this poorly understood kind of “love” in the media we consume, the conversations we engage in, the stories we read, and the relationships that we see unfolding around us. It’s easier still to allow these images of love to taint our understanding of human nature, to make us cynical, to tempt us to despair, to lead us into false assumptions and painful relationships, and (most significantly) to prevent us from personally encountering God. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that at a time in history when we are experiencing great confusion and pain due to a misunderstanding of the nature of love that we have largely lost the ability to believe in or relate to a God who is Love himself.


But these examples of “love,” no matter how convincing, will eventually leave us feeling empty and dissatisfied. Ultimately, they will fail to line up with the movements and desires of our heart. Our souls were made to long for something more lasting, more demanding, and more healing than we can find in the weak and short-lived relationships we experience when we build our definition of love upon this kind of shifting sand that the culture offers us, instead of upon the solid foundation of truth.


I created the "So This Is Love" playlist so that I could listen to stories and perspectives on love that I believe are rooted in goodness and truth. It is meant to serve as a counterargument to the “love is fleeting and solely for personal pleasure” messages that we might be tempted to believe if we were to immerse ourselves too deeply in the waves of the cultural current. Some songs on this playlist are fun and lighthearted, some more serious and intimate. Some highlight the demands and struggles of marriage, while others comment on the joy of discovering love anew or for the first time. Some touch on the gift of God's unending and generous love for us. Many highlight the beauty of friendship, the wonderous mystery of attraction, and the joy giving one’s life to another. These songs speak of love for what it truly is (or ought to be): generous, patient, self-giving, honest, vulnerable, healing, restorative, freeing, supportive, unitive, committed, and a reflection of the Love that brought each of us and our very world into being.


“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” – 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8


“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” – Proverbs 10:12


“To love is to will the good of the other.” – Saint Thomas Aquinas


“For love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self.” - Saint Theresa of Calcutta


Since this playlist is slightly on the longer side, I've decided to highlight 12 of my favorite tracks and lyrics with YouTube videos below (not listed in order of preference).


If you don't have a Spotify account…message me so I can convert you! Just kidding...you should still be able to view all of the song titles/artists and listen to samples using the playlist embedded at the top of this blog post, although you may have to re-route to YouTube and search for songs to listen to them in full.



1. "Banks" by NEEDTOBREATHE


I wanna be there when the darkness closes in

To make the truth a little clearer

I wanna hold you close but never hold you back

I’ll be the banks for your river




2. "Who Am I" by NEEDTOBREATHE


While I’m on this road you take my hand

Somehow you really love who I really am

I push you away, still you won’t let go

You grow your roses on my barren soul



3. "I Don’t Want To Miss It" by Ellie Holcomb


Your touch is the warmth of sun

Your touch is the lingering kind

I’m a child reaching up, put your hand in mine

Swing me around, I want to fly


And I don’t want to miss it

I don’t want to miss a thing

So I climbed up in a sycamore tree

‘Cause I don’t want to miss one thing




4. "We Haven’t Looked at Our Phones" by Jake Scott


Fine I’ll play my songs if you’re really gonna make me

This one's brand new and I think it’s called the mason

don’t tell me if you hate it

I’m picking up pieces of you in the stories you tell me

I’m trying to play it cool but it’s kind of overwhelming




5. "How to Love You Today" by Son of Cloud


I’m learning how to love you today

And I don’t think it’s likely that I’ll know what to say

Maybe I’ll just stare in your eyes for a change

And that’s how I’ll love you today




6. "No One Could Ever Love Me Like You Do" by Imaginary Future


Wasn't like I could plan it

I woke up and we were dancin'

Figurines in the driveway at dawn

We didn't need a reason

Growin' with every season

Walkin' each other home through the fog




7. "Known & Loved" by Joel Ansett


You're in a place you think you know

Surrounded but you feel alone

You have a place to rest your head, but not a home




8. "We Got Love" by The Talbott Brothers


Floating like feathers in the heavy rain

The two of us together can weather any change

That comes our way

Nothing here really feels like home

Home is who you’re with when you don’t feel alone anymore




9. "Oh Love" by Sarah Sparks


Started in early December Helping pick out what she should wear And how she would do her hair Now she's coming back late at night This time they got coffee and ordered wrong She told me that they laughed the whole night long




10. "I Choose You" by Sarah Kroger


Oh when love is a dream

And it’s all as it should be

I will choose you

And when love is a storm

Through the fire or the flood

Still I choose you, I choose you




11. "Band of Gold" by The Gray Havens


And the storms that come and cover up the moon

They may steal away the starry skies we knew

But they can't take away can't take away what's true

I belong, I still belong, I belong to you




12. "What Have We Found Ourselves In" by Jess Ray


There’s something so familiar in your quiet disposition

True and kind half-moon eyes, something from my dreams at night

I’ve only ever had one love and that’s who you remind me of

In this story that we found ourselves in






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