“A Heart of Love to Last Forever: Priceless”

Valentine’s Day also happens to be my mother’s birthday. This gave me the rare opportunity to surprise Mom for both her birthday and Valentine’s Day. When my valentine (my wife Lori) and I showed up at Mom’s door last Monday, the look on her face was, as the commercial says, “priceless.” She was overjoyed with the surprise visit.

Whether it’s a devoted love between a child and parent, a passionate love between a man and woman, or a “puppy love” between children, true love, authentic love, genuine love, has that “priceless” quality to it. Money can’t buy that kind of love.

I read where 31% of singles spend over $100 on that special someone in their life for Valentine’s Day; 64% of men spend over $100 for their valentine; and 58% of women spend less than $75. All in all, with the meals, flowers, and gifts, the world of lovers spends $13 billion on Valentines Day.

Valentine’s Day has come and gone for this year. True love, however, lasts year-round. It’s “priceless.”

How can we make sure our love has that “priceless” quality? Remember:

1). True love relationships have to be “crock-potted” rather than micro-waved. Leadership expert John Maxwell has used this analogy in relationship to leadership development. The same holds true for love relationships as well. Although we can “fall in love” immediately, for true love to develop and last, we have to spend time with that special person in our life. Love can’t be rushed to “fit” into our busy schedule. It takes time for love to bear fruit. In The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck gives us this definition of love: “Love is the will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one’s own and another’s spiritual growth.” It takes patience and time for that nurturing process to result in growth.

(2).Where your love goes, your love grows. When we give our affection to others in positive, healthy ways our love will grow. As we give ourselves to others, they will benefit from our love and attention, providing we give in unselfish ways. An eight year old wrote that during her piano recital, she was on stage and scared. “I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared any more.” Love does that for others. Where our love goes, it creates more love in others and that in turn increases our love.

(3). Relationships are works in progress. Just as a garden must be cared for so it doesn’t die, so must love be nurtured to keep it alive and growing. Many a relationship has died simply because somebody forgot to pay attention.

A couple of years ago, on the first day of class for the new school year, my son’s teacher asked the students to write who their heroes were and why. Dave put my name down. Here was his reason: “He’s there for me.” I’m not a professional athlete; I’m not even a decent amateur; I’m not an international peace-maker; I do well to keep the peace at home! I’m not a singer; those who hear me sing pray for me! But I can love those whom God has been kind enough to place in my path. And by his grace I can nurture that love along life’s way. After all, I’ve got a wonderful role model: my heavenly father gave his one and only son because he loves me so much. Because it cost him so much, that love definitely has that perfect “priceless” quality! And so can yours.