I have never been loved too much. Have you?
We all long for companionship, friendship, community- some one to help us, to pay attention to our feelings, dreams. needs. But that comes from taking time to invest in relationships:
Asking someone to meet for coffee,
Staying up late with a teen who is anxious about life, and wonders if she is acceptable to her peers,
Holding a baby and rocking him until he finally falls securely asleep in strong arms.
Taking time for a cool drink and snacks with your husband so he can unload the stress and pressure he feels in his job.
Making love a priority means giving up some of yourself to receive love back. It’s what we all need.Every year, as I put up my Christmas decorations into lidded boxes marked "Christmas,” I pull out the plastic lidded boxes called "Valentine's Day," and put hearts out everywhere--on all the tables, in the bathroom, as books on the hearth, on my brass fireplace covering, on top of my china hutch, and in the basket with magazines in the bathroom.
Even if you haven’t done so yet, it might be fun to seek out some heart-y decorations to place around your own house! It is fun to have decor every season. Love is such a central theme in our Christian life, that it deserves to be celebrated for 6 weeks!
One of the things I have practiced in the past is to review one love verse a day in February--to remind us all just how foundational love is to marriage, ministry, family, friends, healing, giving, serving. If you just search “Bible verses love” you will find many such verses to review with your precious children—or just for yourself! These habits practiced for many years become a highway in our hearts, reminding us to always practice love.
As I taught my family these important verses, it was actually me who became the definition for what unconditional love is really like. It is as I see my children through the grid of wanting to show them just how generous God's love is, that I behave in a way that helps them believe the words of scripture about His love.
So make this a month of loving, decorating, celebrating, and of course eating a little bit of your favorite chocolate!
Some verses to get you started:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believe in him shall not parish but have eternal life." John 3: 16
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all you soul, and all your strength, and all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10: 27
"Love is patient, love is kind. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in sin, but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always hopes, always trusts, always perseveres. Love never fails." I Corinthians 13: 4-8
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." I John 4:7-8
Some of my very favorites for our family:
"Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend." John 15: 13
"Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sin." I Peter 4:8
"Above all things, put on love, for love is a perfect bond of unity." Colossians 3:4
"God is love." I John 4:8
I hope you all have a wonderful month celebrating love this February!