Love Equals …

This is the “LOVE” week.

Que romantic music, candlelight, aroma of baking yeast bread, fresh flowers and delectable dessert. Swirl in a magical setting and a love one who appears from the shadows shocking your senses.

Ahhhh, the outward adornments of sensory love!

The magic of Hallmark movies or your favorite love story.

We know love when we see it and feel it.

What if we don’t see it and feel it?
Is it still love stripped of all the sensory entrapments?

Of course it can be!

Love isn’t just a manufactured feeling; it comes with commitment. I bet you’ve loved no one you didn’t sense a bond of commitment to. A best friend; “I’ve got your back.” Speaks love and dedication.

Love doesn’t always look romantic. It can but doesn’t have to.

Love can come in a baby’s soft breath on your neck. Nothing expected from the wee one in your arms, yet love for him/her bursts your heart. You can have one eye open at 3 am with a headache from sleep loss and still deeply and committedly love.

Love can be expressed by standing at a kitchen counter making dinner. You could choose to do a dozen other things, but spending your time for your family’s nourishment speaks love. You’re acting out love; putting hands and feet to words.

Some people prefer to hear it expressed, as in “I love you!”. If you never hear those words, it would be hard to believe someone loves you. Some people feel more loved hearing it often.

Others need to see actions: loving acts done for them. For instance, my husband feels washing my car expresses love for me. I did not know till we discussed it years into our marriage. It was a household chore, like any other to me. To him, it signaled love. Good to know. I had misread it for years. Washing cars is not very important to me. Having his wife drive a clean sparkling car means he loves me to him.

For others, gifts speak love. I am a gift giver. It fulfills something in me to give gifts to express my love and thoughts about a person. I don’t have to be the recipient. I enjoy being the giver.

This could stem from a mother who was a gifter. She enjoyed leaving items on our bed when she went shopping. It gave us a surprise after school signaling her love and care for us. She always took hostess gifts when invited to someone’s home and wrote a handwritten thank you note when we returned home.

In her later years, Mom wrote and sent notes to many people. Some to family members, church members, missionaries even prisoners. I do not know where all her cards landed, but I know she went through large boxes of cards and many stamps every month. Dad told me she used two books of stamps every two weeks. That’s one book a week; which is 20 handwritten per week. She found a way to express love and care even when her physical body was limited!

No matter how you express or receive love, I hope you feel loved this week!

Everyone, no matter religion, economic status, nationality or prominence, deserves to be loved. I believe God designed and created you; that is all I need to know to love you! We may be as different as night and day, but that doesn’t inhibit love. You need to know you are loved! I believe God loves you unconditionally. I strive to love all, no matter what even though I fall short of perfection.

What made you feel loved this week?

Here are a few of mine from recent weeks …

Talking on FaceTime to my two-year-old granddaughter… I said, “I love you sooooo much, Indie.” She replied, “I love you sooo much. I want to snuggle with you!” Straight from her heart to mine! Heart melts while wiping tears. Anyone own a private jet, I’ll be right over Indie💖

Fixing a birthday dinner for my 23-year-old grandson. It takes a day of cooking. I make a bigger “event” dinner. Usually of the birthday gal/guy’s choosing complete with dessert. If you know me, cooking is not my love. But it does signal love and care to stomachs. For my family, I gladly do it! For me, it is a labor of love. Yet, hearing my family express their gratitude is all worth it. I get the extra benefit of time together and that signals love, too!

A hug.

A text sharing something about their day/lives or checking in.

A phone call.

Wet kisses on the phone from a bathtub FaceTime.

Art projects from little hands that say, “I love you Zee Zee and Papa!” Or the outstretched hand gifting you a Picasso saying, “I made this for you!”

What makes you feel loved?

Noticing the moments and recording them as love in our hearts and minds keep our hearts full. And adds to the memories of love to think about at any moment we choose.

By the way, loving actions don’t only come from those we love. They can come from strangers and touch us too!

P.S. The week’s not over yet😉

Happy Valentine’s,