Loving Each Other

One day I asked a dear friend of mine if she cared to tell me why she never got married. She lived to be 101 and remained a vibrant senior adult who continued volunteering at her church into her 90s. She told me, “You can’t marry everyone you love.” She left me to ponder whom she had loved but was never able to marry.

Valentine’s Day is a beautiful time to thank God for the spouse he brought into your life to love. Even though Valentine’s Day raises romantic love to a pinnacle, God’s kind of love is more, and all who have been married will attest to that. Actually, God created love. He embodies love! His love raises love to a whole new level—self-sacrificing love.

Maybe you don’t feel loved sometimes. Relationships have changed and you feel keenly the loss of those very near and dear. It’s refreshing to see residents talking and laughing and building friendships with one another. We really do need each other.

My mother grew up in a family where her father never told her he loved her. His had a proud staunch heritage, but his actions did not encourage self-confidence in his children. Sometime in her life, Mother determined that her upbringing would not define her. She said my Dad (her husband) helped her understand what love is. Mother loved God and became so defined by love that her ready smile welcomed everyone, and her open arms offered love to family and friend. When she lived with me, she would pray at the breakfast table, “Lord, give me love for everyone I meet today!”

Loving others makes a huge difference. And, having someone to love is one of the essentials to happiness in life. The other essentials are something to do and something to hope for (attributed to American clergyman George Washington Burnap).

God has given us people around us to love. Some are easier to love than others. Let us determine to love those God has brought into our lives today!

Loving others makes a huge difference!               

Campus Pastor Sherree Lane

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