All Love Comes From God

     Today my Lenten Daily reading book asked me to think about the best homily (sermon) I ever heard. That's an easy one for me. Father David Cooper delivered the best homily I ever heard on March 26, 1983 during my wedding ceremony.  Father David explained to Dean and I that all love comes from God. He said that there would be times over the years in our marriage when loving the other may be difficult, and he said that during those times, we should remember that the more we love each other, the more we are loving God.
     Over the years, I have thought of Father David's words many, many times~ not just in my marriage, but any time I have found loving another difficult. Mother Teresa said that, "...in the final analysis it's between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."
     Every day of my life, I've come home to a place where I knew I was loved. My heart aches for those who have not been so fortunate, and I feel an obligation to share the love that my Father has so blessed me with, but choosing to love is not always easy, and many times I fail to love the way that He would have me love.
     I try to surround myself with what Dean calls "reminders." Some of the reminders we use are to make sure we have scripture verses through out the house. In my office, I use birds and bird houses to remind myself that if His eye is on the sparrow, how much more so does he love me? Meditating on the crucifix is important to me because the crucifix is a picture of perfect Love. I also use music. Brandon Heath's song, "Give Me Your Eyes" is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, even with reminders, we humans don't love perfectly. Thankfully, our Father does.