One of the prayers, included as an option for weddings, is for "those for whom love is a stranger." There are many such people, in our world. There are a lot of them among our community.
It isn't that there is no love in their lives; they are deeply loved by God and they are loved (sometimes even more intensely) by their friends and family, But the lack of that "one special person" in their lives contributes to a feeling of being unloved. Love (seemingly) is a stranger to them.
I write all this from the perspective of one who has a life-long partner. Blessed by twenty-nine years of life shared with this person, it might be said to me, "What do you know of such things?"
What I know is that the love which sustains a life-long relationship can never stand alone. That such a love emerges or is built upon other expressions. It is love of God which makes a foundation. It is love of community which provides instruction on compromise. It is love of reunion which demands proficiency in the art of confession and forgiveness. Love of a way of life shows me that I can't get there alone, but need partner(s).
My relationship with Laura is a practice field for the expressions of love which I need to offer. My marriage to her is a celebration of all those other loves being nurtured and well tended.
As the world around us observes Valentine's Day, I hope you will see through all the sickening sweet, but terribly misguided messages of a world which confuses popularity with love. Read today's appointed Epistle lesson - I John - and be reminded that love is not a stranger to any who are part of God's family. And, if you are worried that love might be a stranger in your own life, allow yourself to see a wider spectrum of love.
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