All you need is Love: Valentine's inspiration
With Valentine’s Day looming in the not so distant future, it’s hard to miss the red roses and heart shapes adorning shop fronts and taking over all the advertising! How are you celebrating this day dedicated to all things love and romance?
Perhaps you’re newlywed looking forward to your first Valentine’s as a wife or are at the other end of the spectrum - a seasoned marriage pro! Maybe you’re in a time of marriage where you and your husband feel like passing ships in the night and are looking forward to rekindling some romance. Perhaps you’re still on the hunt for Mr.Right and are taking this time as a single lady to lavish love on family and friendships.
Whatever stage of life you’re in, over the years our team of bloggers and wonderful podcast guests have offered some great tips and tricks on all things love, marriage and friendship. We’re delighted to share some with you here, in case you may have missed them along the way.
Defining love in all its forms
Still one of our most popular reads on the blog, Sarah Murphy wrote an excellent series on the C.S. Lewis' book The Four Loves, exploring the definitions of love we use. There was one on affection, one on friendship but for the season we’re in, perhaps her exploration of romantic love is the best place to start.
Do we give our hearts the freedom and space to love truly? What does it mean to be free to love? The human heart is made for great things and this was a subject of an inspiring conversation between Maire and Catherine on the podcast, which you can listen to here.
How do you show love to those around you?
Most of us love to receive a well thought out gift and perhaps that’s what makes a gift so special - that the giver has thought about what we really need and want. The idea of what we really value in our relationships with others was something Siobhan Scullion explored in a previous Valentine’s post.
Valentine's is not just about giving gifts; there are many ways to show love. Did you know we all have a unique love language? This is something Jennifer Kehoe spoke about on the podcast, when she explained The 5 Love Languages, a tool designed to help people recognise how they give and receive love in different ways. An excellent listen!
Love and Marriage; a perfect pairing
For those of us who are married, that relationship is our most important. Every couple dreams of the kind of enduring love that Gobnait O’Grady spoke about on the podcast when she talked about the life she has built with her husband over the past 58 years.
While she spoke about the many joys of marriage, she wasn’t afraid to shy away from the difficulties. Giving the best to our marriage is something we’ve often featured on the blog, whether it’s managing logistics, cultivating greater intimacy or looking at specific ways to make our marriage the best that it can be.
Sacrifice: another word for love?
Love and service isn’t just limited to romantic relationships. Anne Gormley writes about the love we show to our families of origin when they are in need of our time and special care. And in another piece she writes about how our Irish penchant for a bit of craic and good humour is a surefire way to spread a little love and joy.
And for those of us parenting little people (or maybe not so little) this post from Siobhan Scullion serves as a reminder to us about how important an attentive presence is for helping them to feel loved and secure.
And to finish, a blog post about the love we can all rely on the most!
Wishing all our readers and listeners a Valentine’s Day filled with love!