It is lent. A spring season when nature comes alive. I was rowing a boat in shallow water. Fishes were hitting against my boat. I understand they are trying to keep me away from their eggs and babies. They are protective of what they love.

The plants especially flowers are opening their buds. The sun kisses the nature and brings new life. It is a beautiful sight to see.

The lent with fasting just started on Ash Wednesday. A period of meditation and love expression. I ended my fasting on Ash Wednesday. I joint a group of believers in solidarity who fasted for Nine days without food but drink. They prayed and learn the Bible every day from 9.00 o’clock in the morning to about 21.00 o’clock in the evening. When you have more than 450 believes coming together every day to pray, sing, dance, fast and learn the word of God, it feels marvelous. In the first three days, it is difficult because the body is demanding food. But after the third day, you can manipulate your body and you have peace. You are free from the lies of the body. As the day goes on, the beauty and purity of the participants appear. You can see people shine in beauty and love, but also express it (I will write more about this in another post). I want to write about how love can lead us. Love is action

You also see the love in action.

The love language communicates itself. You express it to the other and the other who is in the same language understand and receive it. You can express your love language in the language of the receiver. If the receivers love language is physical touch, you can say to the receiver I love you as many times as you want. Your love cannot be well communicated. You can communicate effectively if the receiver’s language of love expression is a hug, a kiss, caressing touch, a shoulder massage or holding the hand. Love often needs action.

Any action in life is a risk especially when it comes to love. Love is also a choice you made, and risks are choices of action you take. When you love, you chose to practice opening your whole heart to your loved one. In that choice, you break the barriers that keep you from distance. You chose to keep off the beliefs and upbringing or even cultural influence, false indoctrination and popular propaganda that tells you to be sure before you act. You chose to commit to someone and through that commitment you allow yourself to grow and unfold into a school of love. The action and choices of love are often against logic and unreasonable. Because the source of love is from the source of logic and reason.

Love has an effect on the life of the lover. It demands that you extend yourself to your loved one beyond your comfort zone. When you go beyond your comfort zone an opportunity emerges that helps you to grow and learn about yourself. You extend yourself for the sake of the other and you open your heart against your natural reaction to withdraw and shut your heart and keep distance out of fear.

When you let love lead, it pushes you to see the face of the other. You see the fear, confusion, insecurity, loneliness, past wounds reflecting on the face, questions searching for answers. Love will ask you to commit to this other and feel the pain, willingly share life, then your heart will open and experience the joy of love.

This is risking everything that you are and that you have known. Things that are safe and familiar to your life are at risk. You are vulnerable because you can be hurt. That is why it is said love hurts. People who do not believe in true love, honest and loving relationships and try to walk away from such are just afraid of the risk of love. That is why they tell themselves lies that such love does not exist. A loving relationship is turned down to the business of what I give and what I get. It is a bargain because the risk seemed too much.

The comfort that love provides when you are with your loving relationship is worth the risk. It is part of the reward and appreciation of love.

Love can generate heat in a cold environment. It can warm a cold heart. It can bring awakening to a slumbering soul. It can give life a new beginning. It brings tingles and sparks to a body that could not feel much anymore.

Certain actions of love bring gratitude, softens your heart and bring smiles on your face. This can be also in memory lane when you remember such things you experienced from a loving relationship. These feelings can go as far as deep joy in your heart.

When you let love lead, things that come out of it can make you be content in life. Life can be satisfying when you have someone who knows, understands and loves you. You can have trust not only in the other but also in yourself when you are going through difficult times. So many people have withstood the hardest period of their life because they know that out there, a lover is waiting. It gives you stability in life. The stability is rooted strongly in the investment you made together. The difficult moments you overcome. The risks and choices you made against all odds, fear, and falsehood. The joys and pain you shared and willingly committed to with one another.

When love leads, far is defeated. The immunity love brings with it barns the shutting down of the heart. It raises the courage to chose to act knowing such an act is a risk. When love leads the language of love can be expressed even in physical communication of love. When love leads the distance is bridged and connection strengthened.

The world had never need for love to lead than now. It is lent, our world is lead by fear. We are almost living against our nature and nature calls. The response we give to things comes automatically. When things repeat, we repeat our automatic response. We need immunity in our bodies. We need group immunity. We want to live long life and longevity life. We need immunity against fear. Love is the best response and remedy for a healthy human spirit and body.

Let love lead you in a truly, honest and real commitment to loving one person to start the journey and learning of fulfilling loving relationships.

Let love lead you.

Godian Ejiogu

Peace Servant