For The Love Of...

For the love of money... For the love of country... For the love of your life... For the love of _______ <--- insert overused cliche'


Everyone's thoughts turn to love when the calendar turns to the fourteenth day of February and today I wonder "What's love got to do with it?" I'm not saying I don't believe in love, I'm not putting down love...what I am trying to ask is maybe better put as in what way are you incorporating love into your life? Because if it's just a word than Tina Turner's on to something - "it's a secondhand emotion"...and if you're living with love as something secondhand in your life you are missing out big time.


I'm gonna go traditional "Niki's Thoughts" for a moment and say that the Bible is very clear on love being unconditional and being how we should treat every single person on this earth. No matter what. Not just those who love us, not just those who are kind. Everyone! God's already given us the ultimate example, will we try to mirror His selfless love somehow in our lives?


On a day when most everyone is trying to show love I think it's a good time to also reflect inwardly on how we are sharing love. Do we freely share our love with all we come in contact with? Or are we stingy with our love, reserving it for an elite few in our inner circles. Well, I think you know which one we should be pushing towards, right?


If we look at my song reference to Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It" as a "How-Not-To Guide" then let's turn to Whitney Houston's (remake) song "I Will Always Love You" and remember to show our love at every given chance. We are all reminded often that life is too short to wait to show we care. BTW, I love you, my friends, and I hope you can see it in the way I act. But if not, please do let me know it!! 


Lessons Learned:
*Unconditional love is HARD! But when we stumble we need to just wipe off our scuffmarks and keep trying!
*There are different levels of love, the love we have for our neighbor will be different than the love for a child, & different still from our love for our spouse
*We need to love God above all else otherwise we will have false visions of true love
*Love does not have to be serious all the time! Love can be fun! Ask someone who's recently engaged? Newlywed? First love? Enjoy every moment because you will need to lean on those through the rough patches!
*Not a lesson just a note: I pray for the family and close friends of Whitney Houston, her death was tragic, her career was legendary but only those closest to her really know what was lost this past weekend.