El día del amor y la amistad: To be loved just the way you are

Ah, St. Valentine's Day is approaching. I can hear the arrow flying now. It is taking a windy journey through the stratosphere looking for open hearts. From my experience, it lands on the fertile hearts of 5 year olds' often.

The following historical article, on the origin and anomalous development of Valentine's day, states that teachers are recepients of the most Valentine's cards and gifts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day After 7 years of teaching, I can attest to that. This years Valentine's will be sparse by comparison:-).

5 year olds' can teach us a lot about love. They are in the present almost always and are in awe of everyone and everything. They trust implicitly and love unconditionally. They say what's on their minds, which is usually what is in their hearts. They are easily influenced, are quick to forgive and exude enthusiasm. They are so very easy to fall in love with.It's their honesty with everything which can drive you mad and endear you at the same time.

Here we can connect with Father Tom's next theme. From the prior blog, we explored what can happen if we feel and believe in God's unconditional love. If God loves us unconditionally, we can feel safe to be honest with Him, ourselves and others. We can own our anger, fear and desire to control. In the moment we notice these thoughts and emotions ruling us, we can choose to surrender it to God.

Father Tom gave us an example from his own life. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Although the chances were small he would die from this, all the people he had known in his past had died from the same condition. Hence, he feared he would die from this as well. Instead of letting this rob him of today and tomorrows joy, he chose to admit it and surrender it to God. He said, God if I am meant to die of cancer then I will accept it. By releasing control his fear dissipated. Father Tom made it clear to us that he did not want to die nor did he not take steps to be healed. He was simply acknowledging his powerlessness over his fear and was letting God be God.:-)

We all have our battles but we don't have to fight them alone. If we invite God into them with us, we have a greater chance at peace. After all, inviting Love in can only be good for us.:-)

This Valentine's day, no matter what love you celebrate, celebrate it with an open and honest heart. You are worthy of love just as you are. So, let God and others love you just the way you are.