*November 28th* (with video)

HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE LOVE?

There are times when we are timid and shy about expressing the love we
feel. For fear of embarrassing the other person, or ourselves, we
hesitate to say the actual words "I love you." So we try to
communicate the idea in other words.

We say 'take care' or 'don't drive too fast' or 'be good.' But really,
these are just other ways of saying 'I love you,' 'you are important
to me,' 'I care what happens to you,' 'I don't want you to get hurt.'

We are sometimes very strange people. The only thing we want to say,
and the one thing that we should say, is the one thing we don't say.
And yet, because the feeling is so real, and the need to say it is so
strong, we are driven to use other words and signs to say what we
really mean. And many times the meaning never gets communicated at all
and the other person is left feeling unloved and unwanted.

Therefore, we have to LISTEN FOR LOVE in the words that people are
saying to us. Sometimes the explicit words are necessary, but more
often, the manner of saying things is even more important. A joyous
insult carries more affection and love within the sentiments which are
expressed insincerely. An impulsive hug says I LOVE YOU even though
the words might be saying very different.

Any expression of a person's concern for another says I love you.
Sometimes the expression is clumsy, sometimes even cruel. Sometimes we
must look and listen very intently for the love that it contains. But it
is often there, beneath the surface.

A mother may nag her son constantly about his grades or cleaning his
room. The son may hear only the nagging, but if he listens carefully, he will hear the love underneath the nagging. His mother wants him to
do well, to be successful. Her concern and love for her son
unfortunately emerge in her nagging. But it is love all the same.

A daughter comes home late, way past her curfew, and her father
confronts her with angry words. The daughter may hear only the anger,
but if she listens carefully, she will hear the love under the anger.
"I was worried about you," the father is saying. 'Because I care
about you and I love you. You are important to me.

We say I love you in many ways-with birthday gifts, and little notes,
with smiles and sometimes with tears. Sometimes we show our love by
just keeping quiet and not saying a word, at other times by speaking
out, even brusquely. We show our love sometimes by impulsiveness.
Many times we have to show our love by forgiving someone who has not
listened to the love we have tried to express.

The problem is listening for love is that we don't always understand
the language of love which the other person is using. A girl may use
tears or emotions to say what she wants to say, and her boyfriend may not
understand her because he expects her to be talking his language.
Thus, we have to force ourselves to really listen for love.
The problem with our world is that people rarely listen to each other.
They hear the words, but they don't listen to the actions that
accompany the words or the expression on the face. Or people listen
only for rejection or misunderstanding. They do not see the love that
is there just beneath the surface, even if the words are angry.

We have to listen for love in those around us. If we listen intently
we will discover that we are a lot more loved than we realize.

Listen for love and we will find that the world is a
very loving place after all.
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