Winter is upon us! Well, at least those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. And where I live, that means snow and ice and early sunsets and boots and coats and, of course, Christmas. But more than that it means seeing family and friends, enjoying company of people we love.
Then I got to thinking about Love Languages. There are supposedly 5 ways people show and receive love: Words of Affirmation, Gift Giving, Acts of Service, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. But even if you know someone's love language, that doesn't mean it is always easy to show them that you love them, unless you have the same love language.
For example, I am a reserved person. I love hugging other people, physical touch is one of my highest love languages. But that doesn't mean I feel comfortable giving everyone hugs all the time. Some people do, and that is ok, but I am constantly worried about what other people are thinking. Would they enjoy a hug? Would it show them I love them, or make them uncomfortable? Likely, as usual, I am over-analyzing the situation, and if I feel like hugging someone, I should go for it. I still tend to hold back, however.
See, it is important for me to show others I love them through their love language and not mine. I want them to know I love them, and care enough about how they are best loved to use that method. On the flip side, however, it is equally important that people show love to me through their love language and not mine again. I would rather have them be comfortable in the way they are showing love then try and bend to the way I best receive love.
It is all very confusing. I think the most important thing is to show those you love that you love them, through your love language or theirs. The most important thing is that they know you are showing them love. And that might be the hardest part. I often get frustrated with myself for not displaying love at all because I don't know how, so i wrote a little poem about it.
Maybe we should just start letting people know what are love languages are, and finding out theirs. (If you don't know, or have someone who doesn't know, there are lots of online sites that can help you figure it out :) ) Whether you do that or not, find some way to love those around you this holiday season, even if you have to make sacrifices and love them by using their love language and not yours.
