All You Need Is Love??

On the eve of a holiday that some wait for all year and others find an annoyance, I am tackling the subject of....you guessed it....love. But not romantic love. Love for your family (even the ones who work your nerves). Love for the person who always looks lonely in church but that you've been too busy to talk to. Love for your enemies. Yes, I'm going there.

In my house on Valentine's Day there are no flowers. Say what?? I have never gotten flowers on Valentine's Day from my husband or children. And I think that's awesome. Some women LOVE flowers and feel pampered and beyond special when they receive them and that is great. I like flowers and am happy and thankful when I receive them. I walk by them, smell them, and bask in their beauty. But my family knows the real way to my heart because they have taken the time to find out about my heart. Pajamas, coffee, chocolate, a Beatles mug, now that's what I'm talking about. Or, better yet, bring coffee to me before I am out of bed in the morning and still drooling a little. That is love. A sweet love note from one of the kids that I think never notices my blood, sweat, and tears. A thank you from the preteen son that has just noticed that his life is better for me being his mom. That is love.

The Bible says we are to love our enemies. I'm thinking that most of you are not making a list right now of what you want to send your vilest enemy for Valentine's Day. I'm thinking that a lot of people think loving their enemies is just not saying all the horrible things that cross their mind to that person's face. But just what would happen if we wrote a love note to our worst enemy on earth or the guy that tried to run down you and your 3 children in the parking lot of Walmart. I'm not talking about, "Love you lots, sweetie, honey, MWAH!" I'm thinking more along the lines of, "Heard you were sick. Hope you are feeling better!" Or, "Hey, let me pay for your coffee." You never know what an act of kindness could do or on what road that person is walking. And really in the end, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we were called to love. Taking 5 minutes to look into that person's heart and show love from your heart is what we are called to do.

Nobody said it would be a cake walk, but then the things that matter rarely are. So choose a someone today. Someone at work, church, home, the cashier in the grocery line, whomever. Love them. What could it cost you? Take time to know the heart of someone you would never think could be the best friend you ever had. Love them.