When do you feel loved?

The greatest feeling of all is to feel loved. Ps Aaron posed the question to us during worship, 'When do you feel loved?' And all of a sudden, I realised how blessed I've been.

I feel loved when my Mum cooks for us, when my Dad fetches me to school, when my friends ask me out and so many more times. Most of all, I feel loved when I'm alone with God. In worship and prayer, God has so many times reaffirmed His love and presence in my life. Especially crucial are His words of encouragement during this time when I just feel quite jaded, not necessarily by school, sometimes just by going church.

I was just reading the newsletter called Naked i, distributed by Campus Crusade during Vivace. Interestingly, the focus was on sex. In it, I read accounts by guys and girls alike on how they slept around. One girl was honest enough to say she was OK with it but most said that after their sexual encounters, they felt really empty and many of the relationships turned sour.

A few weeks back, I watched an episode on Behind Closed Doors, a semi-documentary show on taboo issues in Singapore, this time being abortion. In the last 10 minutes of the half-hour show, an interview was conducted in a group, and 2 of the people were a couple. The couple, face masked and voice changed, were uni students and the girl has already gone through 3 abortions!!! And they were all with that same guy! I was thinking, 'JUST LEAVE HIM MAN!' After the discussion and all, do you know what was the conclusion given by the couple? The lady said, 'From now on, we'll be more careful and practise only safe sex.' I was completely furious and flabbergasted. Dear sister, you have completely missed the point.

My point in saying all that is, all too often, we have a warped [some are very warped] idea of love. We choose to dismiss the simple ways love is expressed and set high expectations of others, ie a big sacrifice of time and money, ridiculously romantic gestures etc. Not that they are wrong, don't get me wrong here, but if they're your only definitions of love, you're in for a loveless life then. Just think for a moment now, when do you feel loved? Be in for a surprise at what you recollect.