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Viewpoint from Rev Rosie Bunn 10/02/2023

rosie bunnRev Rosie Bunn 
Rector of All Saints Church, Belton
and
St Peter & St Paul Church, Burgh Castle

 

The shops are full of chocolates, balloons, flowers, and cards so that those who want to tell someone they love them can do that.  Yes, it’s Valentines Day on Tuesday; in case you have managed to avoid noticing all the commercial hype.  Now, it’s not that I don’t enjoy Valentines Day…. I’m hoping for some flowers and a card, it’s just that I don’t think telling someone that they are special and loved by you has to happen on specific days.  Shouldn’t it be every day that we show the people that matter to us that we love them through the way we speak to them and the way we treat them
 
dove leftLove is many things.  It’s not just that warm and fuzzy feeling when we fall in love.  It’s the way in which we choose to put those we love before ourselves.  Love leads us to cherish; to protect and care for that special person.  Love is shown in kindness and patience.  Love is seen in forgiveness, in not holding on to a record of wrongs, as love covers over a multitude of sins.  When we love someone, we want the best for them; we root for them in the things they seek to do or achieve.  Love is more valuable than gold, and something that we cannot buy.
 
Love can be shown in many ways:

For some just spending time with a loved one is the most important thing; that walk on the beach or through the woods, or sitting by the fire enjoying one another’s company;
 
For others it will be being told they are loved, because the spoken word is the vehicle through which they receive love. A card with poetry, or better still being told personally that they are loved, will be the very thing that fans the flame of their love

 
It may be that you like having things done for you, or doing something for your loved one; the car cleaned, a meal made, breakfast in bed.  Don’t we all like that!  But for some it will be the very expression of love for their loved one
 
Holding hands or receiving a hug is usually part of our expression of love to one another as human beings.  During the pandemic this was something that so many people missed, and some still miss.  A hug at the right time can be better than a thousand words
 
Yet it is the giving of gifts, which for some, is the best expression of love of all
 
So as Valentines Day comes and goes, why not make an effort to be more loving in the way you speak to or care for those around you.  The Bible has much to say about how we can love one another: it is a choice that we can make each day
 


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