Love is a choice.
You may have heard that before, but this Valentine’s, may it sink in deep.
We show this love by how we care for those around us.
By choosing to love them, our love can be seen like an outer garment.
We choose to love.
How we express that love should be up to three key factors:
1. Listen:
Keep an ear out for how the person says they want to be loved, which is usually their primary Love Language.
My hubby is Physical Touch, so a long hug, hand hold or kiss he interprets as how much I love him. If we spend too long apart, those small touches remind him he is loved.
My daughter is Show Me. A spontaneous gift, a thoughtful card, going out of our way to drop her off or pick her up from school…those speak volumes too her of how much she is loved.
My son is Quality Time. Spending one on one, whether chatting, reading together, gaming or watching a comedy or action dvd reassures his heart that he is loved.
Mine is Words, or Tell Me you love me. I text, call or email loved ones regularly as a way of reminding them how much they mean to me. Hearing I was on someone’s heart or mind & they tell me about it makes my day!
(PS. Not sure what your love language is? Take the free test at:
Discover Your Love Language , it is so worth doing…for all your relationships.
2. Look:
How we see them show love usually reveals how someone wants to be loved.
It is likely no surprise that a writer & singer would love to hear loving, kind & encouraging words. Take the time to observe your loved ones as they express care & love to those around them. They will give you the best clue you need by how they show their love.
3. Get Equipped:
Learn how God says we are to love up on one another:
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
This is a huge list to try & do on our own. Trying to love in our own strength leaves us exhausted and empty.
Feeling stressed about how to love like the list in 1 Corinthians 13?
The good news is God helps us to love others when we come to Him to be loved…
The overflow of His love through us is more than enough to express our love to others.
This Valentine’s, let your loved ones know how much you choose to love and treasure them.
Your loved ones doesn’t need our freaking out about what you should get them by the world’s standards.
Bigger doesn’t mean better if your wife hates the roses you get her every year, coz you think that’s how you need to show her extravagant love & that she is special on Valentines… if she really loved daisies (true story!)
If you can only afford:
a small well chosen token…
genuine affection & love poured into a card…
a shared moment over coffee…
a dance to your wedding song…
a poem about love you printed off the internet and put in a dollar store frame…
then be yourself and express your love however you can. The best Valentine’s I ever got were hand written cards from my loved ones, as they showed how much they loved me by loving me back as I love to be loved!
Its not about the monetary price, but the choice you make to invest your love into another’s heart.
Love is priceless, and will live on beyond beauty, objects and time.
Choose to love from the best Source of love there is, its Inventor & #1 Lover of us all!
Love is always worth the investment when you choose to love the ones He loves, revealing His heart as you do.
His love never fails,
never gives up,
never runs out on us.
That’s the love I want my loved ones to know I have as my source of love, and that i will model for them.
Love wants the best.
Loving your beloveds as they long to be loved is the best gift you can give, every day!
KARLA LEES 