Gotta Love it!

by
Suzann Darnall

I have been mulling over all sorts of topics for this week's WoolyMammoth.Org posting, but nothing really jumped out and said, "Pick me, pick me!" For one thing, there is so much going on that screams for attention that it is a bit difficult to hear the one issue that might be the topic to address. Unfortunately, I think part of the problem is that they are all pretty negative and I am not sure I want negative as we move into the week before Valentine's Day. So, I am going to write about love. 'Cause love is the one voice that I always seem to hear. No matter the political hoopla cluttering up my personal internal or external.

The first love that jumps out at me is the love God has for me and the love I have for Him. As it says in the New Testament, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Hand in hand with the love of God is the love from and for His Son, Jesus Christ. In John 15:13 it says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." From Matthew 22:37-39, we find this statement by the Lord, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. These are three very powerful messages. They tell us just how important love is in the great plan of the Creator.

Next is the love I have for my family, beginning first and foremost with my dear husband, Pete. I cannot conceive of living without him. He is like a part of me. Without him I am incomplete. Next to that is the love I have for my children and my grandchildren. They are also part of me. They are so very precious and such a joy. My husband and I were blessed to enjoy our children from their infancy through to their adulthood. We have always liked being with them and now feel the same with our grandchildren. They are not only much loved, they are fun.

I also have great love for my extended family. Parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, in-laws etc. Although some are no longer on this earth, the love they had for me and the love I had for them is a part of me that will never go away. I was blessed to grow up with wonderful siblings in my childhood. I adore still being in contact with the brothers from my youth. I sometimes weep due to the estrangement from the sister of those years. But, whether we speak or not, I still love them all. They are also a part of me.

I learned so much from my parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Some of it about being a wife, a mother and a grandmother. Some about being a good person. What to do and what not to do. I come from a long-lived family, so I learned from multiple generations. Some in the direct lineage, some on off-shoot branches. When I was born there were five living generations. When my daughters were born there were six living generations. Now, with my grandchildren there are six generations, again. And, my daughters and my grandchildren have gotten to meet some of those generations over the years. And, seen what love can be all about.

I also have great love for my country. I am a great big ol' soppy patriot when it comes to flag-waving type things. I tear up at almost all things USA, military, and now Texas . . . where we decided to retire. Heck I even get sappy when they play "Sweet Home Alabama", 'cause I lived there three times in my life and it will always be a little part of the places I consider homes.

Along with my love for America, I love the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the freedom that these represent for American citizens. I very much love and cherish the protection of these God given rights.

It is because love of all these things is so important to me that I am not happy with our government as it is currently doing business. I feel that Obama and his Leftist cohorts are trying to take away my freedom of religion, destroy the American family, tear down our country, and just take away our rights in general.

So, as we move into next week and prepare to celebrate the holiday sorta dedicated to love, don't just think about your sweetheart. Don't just buy chocolates and roses. Think about love in the broader sense beyond romance. Think about love of God. Love of country. Love of freedom. Then, think about what you can do to help protect those for the future!

God bless America! The Lord most definitely be with this land I love!!!

© Suzann C. Darnall, FEBRUARY 2013