All Kinds of Love

‘How sweet it is to be loved by you’. This sentiment will be shared by many in a few days. This is the season when many plan to celebrate the loves in their lives. It is not uncommon for some to get into a funk for a number of reasons. Often, we reminisce about lost loves and follow the tracks of our tears. A marriage or relationship ended, a loved one passed on, or the search for that elusive long and lasting love may have ended up empty. Valentine’s day is not blissful for many. Some of us don’t need a special day to toast to the loves in our lives hence it’s just another day in paradise. Whatever our stories might be, I think we can all agree that love is a many splendored thing. It is ‘full of many magnificent features’ according to one source. There are many facets to it – it also comes in many forms. Sometimes in our quest for love we overlook the loves we already have right in front of us.

When I want to have a good ‘belly’ laugh, I call my sisters. Be it by blood or bond. My younger sister and I can easily talk for two hours and laugh non-stop. Sisters hold us in our weaknesses, they listen even when we don’t speak. They hear what we are not saying and often tell us like it is when we don’t want to hear. They are our parents’ gifts to us and our secret keepers. Our brothers often make us into warriors- we may have had to fight them a time or two. They get on our nerves like no one else, but when they have our backs, they are loyal to the end. Like an army, they often protect us from foes and predators. They are some of the men that have been loving us the longest, even when we are not lovable. That’s how strong their love is. Cousins are the siblings we never had – we write life stories together. These characters come in all flavors. You either love them, leave them, or hate them. They are the ones who often get us into trouble and/or bail us out of trouble. Their love can comfort us through some hard times. We will not forget their mamas and papas. We call them our crazy aunties and uncles. If you’ve ever been loved by an aunt or uncle, you know that’s for real.

In our relentless pursuit of love and happiness, let’s not forget to treasure the ones we’ve been blessed with. The ones who dry our tears when that he or she leaves us brokenhearted. Our ‘ride or die’ gifts from God. Our connections span the course of time – the bonds are inexplicable and the memories we have don’t leave like people do. We had no say in the selection so I’m guessing that God gave us exactly who we needed to do this life well. So, let’s invite our hearts to do a shift – recognize that we are already perfectly loved. God in His grace and kindness extends His love to us in the form of siblings and cousins. That’s some real love.

We love, because He first loved us. [ 1 John 4:19]