LOVE IS IN THE AIR!

It's almost Valentine's Day, so there are lots of words of love flying around. In fact at the end of this post, I have included a picture of a Valentine Card I designed for this auspicious occasion.  This had me thinking about the definition of love.  Webster defines it (among other words too spicy to include) as "a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection".  

I guess that could be a part of it, but is it all?  My mother gave me the "Love Letters" my grandpa wrote to grandma in 1923 before they were married.  In one of them are some dried flowers that he actually picked on his way hiking up Pikes Peak.  Yes, I said hiking!  This was before there were good roads that led tourists up there.  He walked for 6 1/2 hours!  He tells her that it is the second time hiking up there and he would not want to do it again, unless of course she went with him.  AWE!  His exact words were:  "All it takes is will power. That's all it takes to do anything, don't you think?"  That pretty much sums up their marriage of 52 years.   They exhibited a lot of will power by working a farm and among other things battling the great depression together.   Even though I have these love letters, I can never remember him showering her with words of love.  I do, however, remember him rubbing her hand at the dinner table and giving me a wink.  This would send grandma into a tizzy, but you could tell it pleased her that he was tormenting her and I'm sure this was grandpa's way of showing his love.

When I was a teenager, (boo-coo years ago) there was a movie called "Love Story".  The famous saying from that movie was "Love means never having to say you're sorry."  As a teenager with stars in my eyes, I thought it was so cool that you could love someone and say or do whatever you wanted and be totally accepted.  But once again Hollywood fed me a bunch of "crap" (sorry couldn't think of any better term to use).  Love does bring the requirement of seeking forgiveness for the wrong things we say and the way they are said not only to our mates but to others.

One of the definitions I think that Mr. Webster forgot to include for the word "love" was sacrifice. Look at the perfect example of Christ and the sacrifice He made for each of us. Romans 5:8 says: "But God demonstrates his own love in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us."  Now that is a true sacrifice of love!  So next time we are washing clothes, picking up dirty socks, preparing a meal, doing dishes, or gathering information for taxes (you can see what I did this week), we are just exhibiting love at its finest. Happy Valentine's Day!