What's Love Got to do with it?                                     Home Page                        

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Candied hearts, dinner dates, and diamonds; such St. Valentine’s Day treats sets the

standard for perfect dates and romanticism for romantics. It is common every February.  

But, love is a verb. It is something we feel, but equally important is the love that we do.  

How do we do love? Simple things like laundry, carpooling, and vacuuming a floor come

 to mind, rarely do we love those things, but we do them for those we love. It could be

watching Barney with young children, playing flashlight tag with a yard full of pre-teen

boys, or giving up a good night’s sleep to let a bunch of teenaged girls sleep over at your

house It could mean allowing your husband a golf game without making him feel guilty,

or a husband facilitating for his wife a girl’s night out with no children or dishes. It

means doing something for someone else expecting nothing in return.   

Love requires sacrifice. It means giving up what you want to express your love to

another. Saying we love someone is not enough, those words will be tested in almost

every relationship. Love is often expressed in giving yourself for someone else. 

Love allows change. As the parent of a teen I’ve come to realize their world is changing

rapidly and my only hope is to change with them. If they text, you text, if they

Facebook, you Facebook. Parents must take time to understand their kid’s world in

order to be a part of it. Love can be expressed by changing with others and allowing

independence.  

Love accepts others: Key to love is allowing others to be themselves, especially in

marriage. Often we focus on those things we may like to change, but we cannot change

anyone but ourselves. Once we make the decision to accept others for who they are,

we begin to have a stronger sense of who we are. Love can be expressed by allowing others

to be who they are with confidence.  

Love establishes trust: At the core of all relationships trust is critical. Often we over-

commit in an effort to please others, but we fail in trying to live up to anyone’s

expectations. Love can be expressed by making fewer commitments, but keeping the

ones you’ve made and establishing trust over time.

Love forgives:  No family or relationship gets it all right. We are all imperfect and make

mistakes. Thus, every relationship requires forgiveness and the chance to heal its

hurts. Love cannot survive amidst bitterness and anger, so take time to discuss how

hurt relationships can be mended and do what it takes to forgive and love again.  

Just what does love have to do with Valentine’s Day? Everything!  

The perfect date is a good thing. A box of chocolates never hurt anyone. Diamonds?

Well who ever complained about that? But this year, add to that list how you love

others. Let love be an action and an attitude that say’s I love you all year long.