A Growing Love

A Growing Love

Introduction

Love is defined as a feeling of strong affection and concern toward another person, as that arising from a kinship or close friendship; it could also be defined as a strong feeling of affection and concern for another person accompanied by sexual attraction. Online Wikipedia says that love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection and to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love of a mother differs from the love of a spouse, which differs from the love of food. Most commonly, love refers to a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment.

The love that I have in mind talking about is the love between opposite sex and this could also be extended to other kinds of relationship.

The Parties

Love, usually, involves two people, when a third person enters such may no longer be called love but a crowd, like a proverb in this part of the world that says, two people make a very good friendships but when it involves third person the friendship may not be so good again.

You may want to ask that what about those that have many friends. Those who have many friends there would be one of them who will stick closer, one of them they will understand themselves better than the rest. One of my friends would say, if you have twenty friends you will have twenty minds. This is because each one varies from one another, the mind with which one will deal with friend Zee would be different from the mind with which one would deal with friend Bee. Each friend has its peculiarity, that is why one will have different manners, different means of approaching each of them.

Agriculturist’s Eyes

Having seen the parties involved, I will want us to see a growing love in the light of a farmer’s eyes. That is, one sees Love as a seed. A seed would remain as it is, alone, if not planted. When a seed is planted, it would germinate, grow and bring fruits in different kinds of folds.

Agriculturist

A farmer is defined by online free dictionary as a person who operates a farm or cultivates land. A farmer who will cultivate land will need something to be planted in the cultivated plot of land. What would be planted in the tilled land is called seed.

Requirements

The agriculturists and or biologists make it clear unto us some of the needful for a seed to germinate, grow to maturity and bring forth fruits for people.

Some of the essential requirements for such include:

1. Good soil,

2. Adequate temperature,

3. Water-adequate one,

4. Oxygen,

5. Nutrients: macro and micro etc.

Soil

The Soil: since we are looking at love like a seed, we know that seeds would be planted in the soil. Therefore, before love would be planted, there is need for a soil on which the love would be planted in. The soil that love would be planted in, in this sense is the human's heart. When this special seed called love is planted in the human hearts which is the soil in this contest, such heart must be ready to accept the seed of love that would be planted in it. A soil that does not want to accept the seed, it is sure that the seed would not germinate on the heart and fruits should not be expected from such soil during the harvest session. A heart that is not receptible to the sown love proposals, it thence means that the seed planted in the heart would neither germinate nor grown on the heart. Therefore, the sower should not at any time be expecting anything from such heart. We thence, need to pay attention to how receptive a heart is to what we are sowing there.

For a seed to grow on a soil, the soil must be good, must be the type that would accept the sown seed into her.

Thermometer

Temperature: this is the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment. Any seed planted in the soil requires adequate temperature for its germination and growth. The temperature must not be too hot or too cold for the seed. It is the same with the love planted in the heart, actions and reactions to issues by both parties should be adequate, it should not be too hot or too cold. Therefore, people who are in love relationships are usually being enjoined that “one should be goat and the other be sheep” this invariably is saying that one of the partners must ensure that she or he is tender hearted when his or her partner is blowing hot. When both are blowing hot at the same time, things would not be settled, it would rather escalate.

In the love relationships, there will always be times when a partner will see things differently from his or her partner when such happens, this may want to generate frictions among them and we know that frictions usually dissipate energy, the energy generated is often time wasted, but when they could give room for the possibility of differences among them, the generated heat instead of being wasted would be constructively used.

In the case of a seed that has just been sown in the soil, we know that the temperature must neither be on the high side nor on the low side, therefore the temperature must be maintained at a level that would keep the seed growing. This requires for us to learn check and balance in our actions and reactions to issues. When we sense hotness, there may be need for withdrawal from a partner not because of weakness but because we want the temperature to be within the range that will allow for the growth of the love in the partner’s heart.

We should know that what our partner does not see now that want to heat up the love environment such a partner may see it tomorrow, that is if we can allow for the temperature to be within the range for its growth by withdrawing into our shell as the snail withdraws its visceral stalk and foot into its shell. Some considers this an act of weakness, but I do not so see it like that.

The bible on another note admonishes that both parties be sheep. Sheep all over the world is known for its action, they are not as troublesome as goats do. When both parties could be sheep-like in attitude, the friction that wanted to generate would be quickly doused.

This means, when lovers have misunderstandings among themselves this will be settled within hours if not minutes that is how sheep interact, they are always together.

Water

Water: it shouldn’t be too much or too little, it should be moderate. Neither the germinated seed nor the seed of love should be in a water-logged environment. Water is said to convey the nutrients, minerals and in fact the digested food are being carried by water to where they would be used in the body of the growing plant. This water permeates all aspects of the body of the plant and animal. In the same vein is this water permeating all aspects of the lovers’ lives.

I will want us to view water as the lovely atmospheres created between lovers. Those created jokes, those romantic moments, those things that would make the home lively are those things that should permeate our love life. When we want to correct each other, this should be done in love not with the mind of whatever will happen let it happen.

Oxygen: This conveys life, the life of all relationship is in the genuineness of the relationship. There won’t be a genuine relationship if both partners are godless, then there is need to have God in our relationship. God will drive that relationship to the desired heaven. God will make the relationship alive and healthy always if we allow Him in our relationship.

You may want to say what of those who do say there is no God but who yet live a goodly healthy life in their relationships. My answer would be, were such people to have allowed God, their relationships would have been much better than what it is now. In other words, they are far below what the Lord has for them in relationship assuming they give in to God's leadership,

Nutrient Pyramid

Nutrients:
(a) Macro: These are physical things, these are what could be seen. How many physical things have you gotten for your lover? How many surprises have you gotten him or her? You may not be rich, but yet you are in love, you can surprise her or him by getting him or her small things e.g. buying her a new pant, buying him a new boxers, sending credit to your love's cellular line, cooking his best meal (ironically sadly some do not know the best foods of their lovers) etc.

(b) Micro: These are the unseen things that makes love grow. You should be praying together regularly do not make it once in a while habit of praying together for that is what some people do, doing this will not help the situation. After praying together, you should also cultivate the habit of praying for your partner in your closets, praying for him or her in your heart, do not forget that our hearts are always open unto the Lord. We should be ready to share with our partners some of the things we have received from the Word of God. As the head of the family like a farmer sowing the seed, we shall need to be teaching her some things.

When these things are in their right proportions, the agriculturists say the seed would germinate, grow well and be established to be yielding fruits to the sower. Doing these things will equally help our love to germinate and grow and when such love begins to grow, it will be like a seed planted by the rivers of water which brings forth its fruits in its season, its leaves will not wither and whatever (they do) he does prospers simply because they are mutually compatible.

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psalms 1:3)