Loving People Differently

Okay, so I'm not eating these... I've had the privilege of being out of town and a bit pampered for the last few days at a summer camp for Mike's work. I love cooking, but a break (especially a tasty one) is always nice. The point of all this is that you don't get what I don't cook - so it's philosophical stuff for you until I can get back to busy in my kitchen...

So much of hearth and home has to do with loving people. When's the last time that you thought about people's needs? Sometimes it's easy to think we're "okay" and to not give much thought to how we love people. It seems obvious if you think about it that people express love through the things that they appreciate. Many people express love and affection with flowers or kind words or home made cookies or doing the laundry or fixing the car or setting aside special time together. You can learn all about this at http://www.5lovelanguages.com - a great source of relationship information.

So did you know that there is a sixth love language? BUGs. My number two child has always had a passion for all things creepy and crawly and today, with great joy, he came bounding in, "Close your eyes! Close your eyes!" (as I was sitting on the couch) I said, "No, I will not open my mouth!" He laughed and said I didn't have to. So I closed my eyes and screamed a tiny one when I opened my eyes to locust skins on my belly! But (not a chicken), I smoothed my voice and had a talk with him about locusts and other things that were on his heart.

Even though there are locusts on my belly, this post isn't really about what's in my belly. But it is about how you love the bellies that you are filling. I could've rejected the silly gift in revulsion, but I chose to engage my boy instead on something that he cares about deeply (though I do not). How can you seek to enter into the world of those that you love? Watch them carefully, love them individually, brace yourself and "stomach" the oddities of other people - and watch your relationships blossom!