The L Word

Love

I don't claim to know or understand love. In fact, I'm learning every single day. I'm not going to pretend I'm some love guru but, love is important.

I believe love is what drives us to do and become. I think when we lack love, we lack true purpose and drive. Some of my fondest memories are times when I did things out of love or what another person did for me out of love. When we do things out of selfishness -- that's when we run into trouble.

Love Blooms

Flowers need care and attention. Flowers are different from each other but those differences create beauty. Like a flower needs water, sunlight, and nutrients, love needs nourishment in different forms.

Water, Sunlight, & Nutrients

One of the things that drive me crazy is when my son spills water everywhere when he gets a drink. It could be bumping the cup with his hand/body or letting it slip out of his hands. Yes, I know, how dare I get mad. I can understand once or twice but there was a span that he spilled water continuously and it drove me crazy because I just didn't get how you could keep making the same mistake over-and-over again with something as simple as drinking a cup of water. 

While I am focused primarily on his mistake, I have failed to recognize his need -- water. How often do I focus on mistakes or what's lacking that I fail to nourish the need? The same goes for love. Supposedly there are 5 main love languages and people usually have one that is dominant, or, in other words, the best way to be nourished. 

I have learned through experience that the water, sunlight, and nutrients for my wife are quality time and acts of service. Me, on the other hand, is quality time followed by physical touch. Oftentimes we think of love being all physical touch because that is what is portrayed in movies and television. Not so fast! A candlelit dinner with soft, romantic music in the background for my wife is giving her and my kids my attention and sweeping, helping with dinner, wiping down the counters, and/or dishes. I have learned when I meet her needs and nourish them, our love blossoms because I am putting her needs above mine. 

All Different 

Just like there are many different flowers, there are many different individuals who need varying things to feel loved. I am learning slowly that each of my kids has different love languages or ways in which they need nourished. My oldest son is a lot more sensitive than our first daughter yet that same one is a big cuddler and likes to be held unlike the other two. I am still learning about our youngest daughter but all I have found is that she loves eating, making a mess, and never sits still. 

Ultimately, differences are what make life beautiful. I think a spring landscape would be pretty dull throughout the world if there was only one kind of flower. The beauty comes when we see each type of flower differently and try to love them where they're at. I know our Heavenly Father has created us uniquely yet beautifully and that beauty can blossom when others are placed before ourselves with the "L word" as the motive.