Love Month

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have found my one true love the first time around. Then I think about all of the experiences, loves, losses, and wonderful friends I made over the dating process and realize each person that came into and out of my life was there for a reason. I realize this might be an odd blogpost to write, but it is how I am feeling. I have been thinking about love and the many forms it takes, especially because we are so close to Valentine's day. "Love month", as I like to call it, is approaching, and yet there is so much more than just the romantic love that should be celebrated. These are the types of love I consider worth celebrating:

1. The love of a mother for her child
2. The love of a father and his baby girl
3. The love of a blossoming romance
4. The love of siblings that is often expressed in quarrels and made up in cuddles
5. The love of a best friend, who knows that no matter how far a part you are, or how little you may talk, nothing could ever break or harm the friendship you hold
6. The love of a teacher for her students, a kind of love that so often goes unappreciated or unnoticed except between the teacher and student themselves.
7. The love of a mother and a father for each other. I feel that this love might be so very different from the love of a young couple. The love of parents for one another is a deep bond that I look forward to experiencing one day.
8. The love of an old couple who has been together through it all and back again. 
9. The love of a grandparent for their grandchildren. It's often hard to describe but so easy to feel
10. The love of relatives for relatives, no matter how distantly related you may be, family is family
11. The love of a pet and its owner, the looks of love and adoration, the comfort received, the loyalty
12. The love of guardian angels protecting us from the other side of the veil
13. The deep love rooted in human nature to be charitable to one another, even the strangers we meet
14. The love of a religious leader and his or her congregation, something that moves deep inside of them and whispers "protect them"
15. The love of our Savior, Jesus Christ, when He gave His life so we could live

But most importantly...The love of a Father in Heaven, who gave His Only Begotten Son so He could have all of His children back. A Father who never leaves our sides even when we leave His. A Father who desperately longs for us to choose the right and to return to His loving embrace. A Father who turned His back on His Son, even Jesus Christ, as He suffered for the sins of mankind.How hard that must have been for Him. 

That, my friends, is love. That is the love that should be celebrated not once a year, but each and every day. This Valentines day I challenge myself and whoever continued reading this post to find someone new to love and to express that love to everyday. Whether it be a long lost friend, a stranger, a family member, a significant other, or your Heavenly Father. Express it in your words and actions. Love is an expression of understanding. When we love we express to others that we understand our relationship with them. It expresses gratitude and charity. One of my favorite movies Dan In Real Life states "Love isn't a feeling. It's an ability." 

What a powerful statement. Take the time to enable yourself to love, and love in many different ways. 

I am constantly surrounded by love. Why not show it a little more?