Breathe out love

I saw this quote on a dining room wall in a home that was on a Christmas Home Tour I went to last week. The artwork that the quote was on was from Sugarboo Designs:

Girl Dog | Sugarboo Designs

I had not seen this piece before but I was familiar with another art print of theirs ... In fact, I used it in a nursery several years ago:

I fell in love with the print the minute I saw it. But interestingly, I didn't remember the quote or if I ever even paid attention to it at the time we purchased it. When I read the quote on the artwork from the house tour it really touched me. Especially the part where it says, "Above all else, love."

It reminded me of a radio broadcast I had heard recently. I was driving out of town and was listening to Oprah radio. Oprah has a show called Super Soul Sunday where she talks with / interviews different people each week about life and spirituality. And God. It is not always what I believe exactly (not that I think anyone can believe everything exactly anyway...) but it is always lovely and always thought provoking. I love a good conversation about life. During one of those shows, she asked someone what they felt our purpose in life is. Because, she said, (and I am paraphrasing here) "we are all here for a reason." I was really curious what she would say she thought that reason was. I wished at that moment that I could stop the radio and rewind a bit ... push record ... pull over and write down the conversation to remember it more. She went on to say that she believed the reason we are here is to LOVE. To receive love and to give love. Ah, Oprah. I couldn't agree more. 

She talked about how even when it is hard, even when someone does something that challenges that love, we need to look at it as an opportunity to love. I love that word, opportunity. Jesus didn't say to love those that are easy to love, in fact, he said there is no great feat in that. He said we should love those who are not easy to love (Matthew 5:43-48). I think when we look at circumstances as opportunities we can rise to the challenge. 

I hope you know that you are loved like crazy.

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

-1 John 4:8

quotes