February is the month of love. As we are out and about soon after Christmas we begin to see hearts...boxes of chocolates in heart shaped boxes, teddy bears carrying hearts with love messages, and many sizes of valentines. There is no denying that love is one of the greatest forces in the human experience. We felt that love in December when we were wrapped up in Christmas activities, now again in February we are reminded to think of those we love and remember to communicate that love.
One of the nicest stories of love that I heard this past year was given by Lloyd D. Newell on the Tabernacle Choir Broadcast. He told of a young man who traveled with a corp of volunteers to an orphanage far away from his home. The group had worked hard to raise money and provide the orphans with a playground, mattresses, shoes, and food. When they arrived there to deliver their donations, the children beamed with excitement. They were grateful for the generous gifts, but the young man could see that more than anything, they wanted to be loved. He said they ran to him, sat on his lap, and lifted his arms over their shoulders...they literally put his arms around them, showing him how much they wanted to be hugged. The young man couldn't help but realize that of all the gifts he had been given, of all the gifts he could give away, nothing compared with love. Brother Newell at the conclusion of his words said, "We don't need to measure love as if it were in short supply. We need not reserve our love only for those we're comfortable with or those who have shown love to us. Be generous with your love and you'll never run out of it. Love regenerates itself
....it grows by giving it away."
The scriptures are full of passages reminding us that this gospel is a gospel of love. We are admonished to love our parents, love our husbands and wives, love our children, love our neighbors, love one another, love God and keep his commandments. The commandments are laws to aid us in showing our love. We are reminded all of the time in our Sunday meeting lessons that this is a time of trial and that there are many who are suffering from all sorts of maladies and problems and we need to share the burden. We need to help each other through loves door. It is easy to talk of love, it is easy to see examples in all of our lives of expressions of love that have been given and received. So the message we need to receive is that we need to examine our lives and improve in areas where we are lacking. We need to create more love in our hearts and show it more in our dealings with each other.
I read an article about romance and marriage written by Darrell Sifford wherein he was teaching about the art of loving. He thinks there are three things we can do and none of them depend on body chemistry. All depend on a decision of the mind. First, COMMITMENT...We need to make up our minds to work at the relationship to make it better. We can make the decision to make our marriage work right from the beginning or any time in between. Second, CONCENTRATE on the other person. We need to turn off the TV, put down the newspaper, and look into each others eyes when we talk. We need to listen to what is said and respond to it. Third, CONCERN for the other person. When you have committed to another person, and decided to really concentrate on their needs and wants, you can cultivate more concern for their total happiness. He says that if we really try to send that message of how much we love someone it won't take long before they feel that love land respond to it.
For the month of February perhaps we can concentrate more on how we can show more love to those around us. That decision will help us in our January focus to be happy. My theories are: "make someone happy and you'll be happy too"....or "give love and it will come back to you." If we would each bake a few Valentine cookies and distribute them to our friends and loved ones....think how much love we could spread.
With love to each of you....Maurine Winters
