Thinking Out Loud, Volume CDLXXXVII

I'm one of the fortunate ones! There are people, both family and friends, who will think about me several times today. Hopefully this doesn't happen, but if I disappeared tomorrow, many of them would be frantically searching for me....not giving up until I was found. Today is a travel day for me, and I can board my flights with the assurance that prayers will be going up on my behalf, asking God to keep his hand of protection on me until I'm safely at home. What an awesome feeling it is just knowing I'm loved, and having that love expressed to me. The most compassionate act performed by a mother turtle is when she looks for a safe place to lay her eggs. Once the eggs are laid and covered, she is done, and she heads back into the water, never to check on her kids again. We humans are polar opposites. Although we rarely use these exact words, from the cradle to the grave, we plead, "Please love me!" A baby's first cry is a plea for love. When a person's life is about to end, they long to have all their loved ones with them for that final breath. All the time in between those two moments, we crave love. Perhaps you have known individuals who were craving love and acceptance so desperately, when you showed them special attention, they would cling to you as if they would never let you go. I believe that's why, in the first part of Genesis 2:18, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone..." A few weeks ago, I wrote about the different contexts from which we use the phrase "I love you," but expressing love requires so much more than words. I recently heard the statement that the average human needs to be physically touched by another human at least eight times a day. Just a little pat on the shoulder, a light hug, a light touch on the arm, etc. may seem insignificant, but trust me, they are noticed. Another way of expressing love is to make sure we let others know we are thinking about them. A card, text, call, or email that says, "I'm thinking of you today" can brighten the day and lift the spirits of practically any warm blooded human being. What an awesome feeling it is when I know I've lifted someone's spirits, and today I have an opportunity to do just that. Whose day can you brighten? Will you make a positive difference in someone's life today? There are those of you among my family and friends who will be reading this article who regularly make what may seem like small gestures to me in the way of calls and texts that just let me know I'm important to you. As small as these acts may seem, they appear large from my point of view. You know who you are, but I don't know if you're aware just how much they mean to me. I'm one of the fortunate ones! Preston