Expressions of Love – True Love in Action
Expressions of Love – True Love in Action
Carol says that true love is about so much more than cards and flowers. We should learn to demonstrate love in many different ways.
True Love and Acceptance
Everyone has a puzzle piece in their life marked love, which is paired with the one called acceptance. Those two are a snug fitting pair of pieces.
We all long to be loved. We might fantasize about romantic love and finding that one special person to grow old together with. Often we want the fairy tale ending of happily ever after and hate to think of the tough stuff, and the dragons that need to be dealt with on the way to the wonderful ending.
hopestreamradio · Expressions Of Love
Romance is the Top Selling Genre
We can read about love. Romance is the top selling genre and has been for years. Songs are written about love. Google love songs and you come up with titles of posts and articles such as Best love songs: top 100 love songs of all times, or fifty most romantic love songs of all times, or top 100 love songs from oldies to modern classics and the list goes on. There are love poems, both old and new. We can read and learn about love languages and likely quote catch phrases about love from movies such as Love Story, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
Some People are Alone
But not everyone has someone else in their life at the moment. Some people are alone. Maybe they’ve never found that special connection or have loved and lost through the death of a spouse or from life going off the rails, or throwing a curve ball, whichever cliché you choose to use.
Can love exist for those who feel lonely? Can a good friendship help show compassion and love? What should love look like anyway?
Shakespeare said,
“The course of true love never did run smooth.”
I don’t think any relationship runs smooth, not even in fairy tales, but there are ways to show how much you care about another person, ways to make them feel connected, or ways to help them feel special.
True Love is More Than Flowers and Cards
Love is so much more than hearts, flowers, cards, and sparkling diamonds. I mean these are all lovely and I would never turn them down if my husband offered them to me. They can convey beautiful sentiments but love in action takes it to a whole new level.
To me love means caring enough to say sorry when I hurt another’s feelings. It means learning to give your six-year old granddaughter insulin injections – yes back when it meant measuring and filling a syringe to give the shot – so she could still have sleep overs at grandma’s house like the other grandchildren.
Love means being home every afternoon and learning to hook a bag of IV antibiotics to a PICC line for my husband to save him the pain of a trip to the hospital each day. It is sticking by his side even when he hurts so much he can’t do what you’d both like to do to make some more memories outside the house. It means keeping your promise to love him in sickness and in health.
It can mean being there when an aging parent needs extra help, rides to the doctor or hospital and sometimes when they are being a bit cantankerous because they hurt.
It means standing with someone as they hurt, or mourn, or try and figure out life without spouting platitudes at them or attempting to fix things. It means putting your arm around them and shedding a tear or plenty of tears with them.
Love could mean spending a couple hours with someone who is lonely and listening to them tell stories or share their concerns when you have a pile of projects on your own to do list. It might mean reading school papers and offering comments and encouragement to your grandchildren or others who are in need of the help you can provide.
Showing love, compassion, and kindness might mean giving someone that extra blanket hiding in the back of your closet or cleaning out clothes and finding someone who needs them worse than you do. Maybe it’s giving them a quiet space to come and hang out for a few hours or a phone call just to say, “I’m thinking of you.”
Love can mean sharing a meal or a celebration like Christmas with a family new to your town or even our country so they do not have to sit alone. It could mean taking that proverbial casserole to someone who is struggling.
Love means making memories by enjoying the little things together. This list of how to show love through compassion can go on and on. What types of things might you put on your own list of how you can show love and kindness to someone else, whether a spouse, a child, other family members, friends, or someone you just met?
True Love, Bible Style
In 1 John we read much about loving one another. In chapter 3: 11 it says,
“This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”
In verses 16, 17, 18 of that same chapter it says,
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
1 John 3:16-18
In I John 4: 11 it says,
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
Life is full of unknowns, uncertainty, and downright tough times which means there are lots of hurting people who need some love shown to them. Maybe we are one of those hurting or lonely people. How can we extend true love, compassion and kindness to others and thus fulfill the commands of Scripture to love one another?
What have been the most touching expressions of love that you have experienced? We would love to hear from you. Share your comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Carol Harrison
Listen to Carol’s program Puzzle Pieces Of Life or visit Carol’s website carolscorner.ca
Carol Harrison B.Ed is a speaker and published author with one book, Amee’s Story and stories in twelve anthologies. She is passionate about helping people of all ages and ability levels find their voice and reach their fullest potential.
She knows, through personal experience that some of life’s experiences are tougher than others. She encourages people that even in the twists and turns of life God’s amazing grace provides hope.
She lives in Saskatoon, SK with her husband Brian. They have four adult children and a dozen grandchildren.
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Image Credits:
Couple – AdinaVoicu
Wedding – StarFlames
Coffee – Pavel-Jurca
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