"I'm Just Sayin" by Alan p. Scaglione

Bella and Alan

“I’m Just Sayin”

by Alan P. Scaglione

It’s Valentine’s Day! A day for roses, chocolates- that perfect card and dinner! That’s how we express our love, right?  How we show them that we care? So they’ll know they matter, that they count?

But, how does love really express itself? Could it be love is that presence that shows up when everyone else has walked out? Or, is love the whisper that reminds you that, no matter what the circumstance, you are more than your surroundings, more than your situation, more than what you settle for….love thinks the better of you, sees the “best” you and  knows the real you. Loves sees thru you!

My wife Bella has had to deal with a lot lately. Life’s unexpected changes! We’ve been through a lot in the last 11 years of marriage. Economic downturn, trying times involving our six children.  Hard decisions that have left us being the unpopular parents; being their friend IS the easier job.  Then there’s that one time she travels out of town for a few days, and I have to go and have a heart attack. It’s been 19 months of adjusting to unexpected changes in her knight in shining armor; same knight, a few dents and tarnished armor. A lot of unexpected changes - not the life we expected when I promised her that I would give her the world.

But isn’t that life? It’s what happens when you’re making other plans!        

Yet, through it all…love never let me forget who I really was; love reminded me that I was more than this new physical disability, that I was not a shadow of my former self, I was still the same me…and love never left, never wavered, never gave up-- on me! Love’s quiet strength lifted me up when I couldn’t stand. Without saying a word… love loved!

Maybe you know this kind of love…in a brother, a sister, a spouse, a friend…someone who truly loves the best right out of you! It’s that love that we celebrate each day of our lives—grateful to be loved!

I Corinthians 13 tells us “Love is patient, Love is kind; love believes all things, hopes all things, bears all things, endures all things!”

Everyday, honor love in your life—appreciate the ones who have been there for you, through thick and thin. When the world walked out, loved moved in….to stay!