Yesterday the world celebrated love for Valentine’s Day. I knew what I had to look forward to from the day before, a hand made card from my 4 year old, but because of her excitement and enthusiasm as she told me of her card just for me, her happiness rubbed off on me. I was excited to see the card that she had made with her teachers’ help, just for me.
I’m learning that I can choose my attitude which will control my reaction to things. Yesterday morning, I chose to be happy. There were so many things I had to be grateful for. For the first time on Valentine’s Day, I chose to be grateful for God’s love for me. His love is so great for me, that He laid down His life for me. John 15:13, and even before I was formed in the womb, he chose me and set me apart. Jeremiah 1:5
Love transforms us. Any kind of real love, changes us. God’s love for us, changes us when we acknowledge Him and His presence in our lives. We can’t come to know Him and be the same as we were. Our relational love changes us. It motivates us to want to work harder at being the spouses God has called us to be. Love in friendship changes us. When we know that we are loved and accepted for who we are, it gives us confidence, which exudes in other areas of our lives. Our children’s love changes us. Self-love and self care is precious, we should let that change us, and not let our relational status dictate whether we are happy or not.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 reminds us of the following:
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Let us learn to observe love in our relationship with God and others.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your unfailing love for us. Help us to learn to not just accept love, but to give and show others love as well. There are so many who need to see your love and one of the ways we can do that, is by being kind to them. Help us to also be kind to ourselves and to show ourselves love.