Love Shows Up: What Life’s Big Moments Reveal About Truth, Action, and Who We Really Are
There’s a moment I keep returning to.
I’m on a boat in Lake Como, surrounded by the people I love most, celebrating the wedding of my daughter, Lauren. The sun is setting over the water. It’s been a perfect day. And then, cutting across the lake like a real-life James Bond, we see another boat barreling toward us. Everyone looks. People start to whisper, then shout. It’s my son, HL.
He couldn’t get there in time for the welcome party. But he made a way; racing from Milan, chartering a boat, making his entrance like a movie star. And when he climbed aboard, I felt it in my bones:
Love shows up.
The Science of Showing Up
In psychology, we often talk about attachment which is the deep emotional bond that forms between people, especially in relationships that matter. Research shows that secure attachments are built not just on affection, but on consistency. On presence. On the repeated experience of someone being there in action, not just in words.
This idea is beautifully echoed in a verse I’ve been reflecting on lately:
“Let us love not in word or speech but in truth and action.” – 1 John 3:18
It’s not about what we say. It’s about what we do.
Because when it really counts, whether you’re launching a child into marriage, or grieving the loss of a parent; what people do tells you everything.
Launching, Grieving, Becoming
This has been a year of launch and loss for me. I’ve said goodbye to my mother. I’ve said hello to a new chapter of motherhood as my daughter becomes a wife. I’ve opened the doors to Armonía Life Design, a dream born out of decades of experience and the desire to create a space where healing and growth are possible.
And in each of these transitions, I’ve watched closely:
Who shows up? Who steps forward? Who reaches out?
Because these moments, milestones and heartaches alike, are when the truth of our relationships is revealed.
The Invisible Labor of Life’s Big Moments
One of the most powerful findings in behavioral science is that emotional support is rarely about solving problems. It’s about presence. Dr. John Gottman calls this “turning toward”. It’s the act of being emotionally available when someone needs you, even if you don’t have the perfect words.
Presence is the glue of a relationship.
And sometimes, that presence shows up on a boat in Italy.
Sometimes it’s a quiet text that says, “I’m thinking of you.”
Sometimes it’s helping someone carry the invisible weight of a moment too big for words.
These moments matter. Because they shape not only our relationships, but our sense of self.
The World Feels Heavy Right Now, So Let’s Lighten It with Love
We’re all feeling the weight of the world. Conflict, uncertainty, climate anxieties, political polarization—it’s a lot. And still, we find ourselves in transition. Globally, relationally, personally.
That’s why it’s more important than ever to ask: What does it mean to show up?
Not just in times of crisis, but in the everyday sacredness of someone else’s milestone.
Showing up doesn’t require perfection. It requires intention.
Love Is a Verb
Love isn’t just a feeling. It’s a practice. A choice we make in real time. And it’s a practice best measured not by what we say, but by how we live.
So whether you’re navigating the grief of losing someone, the joy of watching a child grow, or the uncertainty of launching something new, ask yourself:
Where is love asking me to show up?
Who needs to feel my presence right now…not in word, but in truth and action?
Let this be your reminder that how we show up is how we love.
And love, real love, always finds a way.