The Book of 

Ooh La La!

Posted on February 4, 2010 12:00 AM MST by Sara Richardson

Ever since I was very young I have believed in the power of true love. When I could write, I started keeping a journal, but it wasn’t the “Dear Diary” type of journal. No, recording the day’s events never appealed much to me. Instead, I called my journal The Book of Love. Go ahead, laugh. I realize it’s a bit unconventional for an eight-year-old. (But you’ve gotta remember, I was also a budding romance writer.) Throughout the years I filled many notebooks. It became a compilation. The Book of Love Volumes I -  … well, I’m still writing books about love.

Now you may be thinking I filled my notebook pages with juicy secrets about all of the boys I loved, about those first kisses on the cheek, about my first boyfriend who dragged me across the playground and informed me we were “going out.” (Going where, I had wondered.) But let me stop you right there. Those notebooks were not filled with my secrets or my personal experiences with love. They were filled with others’ thoughts about love. Every time I came across a poem or Bible verse that spoke powerfully about true love, I copied it into my notebook. Eventually, when I grew older, I started to write my own poems, and “articles” about true love. (Wouldn’t you love to see a sample?)

See, I have always been fascinated by true love. I caught glimpses of it here and there. In the love between my parents, in their love for me, even in a couple of best friends. But I also believed there was more. So I studied it. Analyzed it. That is how I learned about true love. By reading about it. By writing about it. By realizing that love was the longing deep within my soul. That love was what I craved more than anything in this world. In that search, in those studies, I found the answer. God is love. We were created to love. And we were created to be loved. That’s why I’m a hopeless romantic. Because I know that true love—perfect love—does exist. Because I know it covers me. My absolute favorite quote about love comes from I Peter 4:8: “Above all, love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins.” Now that’s power.

Okay, since I can see you’re practically begging, I’ll share one of my early poems about love. (Disclaimer: What you are about to read was not dated so I have no idea how old I was when I wrote it. All I know is that it came from Volume II. Based on the tone, I think I was imagining this is something God would say to me, but I really can’t be sure about that, either.)

Let Me Love You
I long to teach you what the touch of a loving hand can do,
I ache to bring down the walls that surround you.
There is so much I want to share,
I am willing to risk showing you how much I care.
I want to give you the gift of peace,
So your searching may finally cease.
Give me your hand and hold on tight,
And I’ll show you the world in a different light.
A wondrous place where dreams are free,
A place far greater than the world that you see.

Go ahead, laugh again. I sure am! Have you ever written a poem or a profound musing about love? Share yours so I’m not so embarrassed!

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