I offer this tribute to all those celebrating anniversaries of love, commitment and devotion.  May your love be ever strong!

To Love is to Long for each other…

Love longs to be in the company of each other, to long to see the shimmering delight reflected in each other’s desire.

To long to reach out and to gently gather close to each other because you long for that tenderhearted touch.

You love and you long.

To Love is to listen…

To listen not only when you’re talking to each other, but especially when you are simply sharing your presence together in silence.

To let love guide your understanding.  To love is to listen and let silence become greater than words.  To love is to listen to what each other needs, not just when you’re talking about the details of your day, or how to do something.

To love is to listen, to let kindness and gentleness accept the frustrations and anxiety you express; to let honor and respect catch each word, each attitude, and each gesture.  To listen is to embrace and claim each other’s emotions with lovingkindness. To listen is to keep silent when needed, to offer unending understanding over and over again.

To Love is to Lighten each other’s heart…

To listen to each other and try wholeheartedly to understand the situation, to see and experience each other’s perspective in small and great things, to let love lighten the way.

To Love is to lighten each other’s heart and spirit.  To lighten each other through constant, continuing trust and constant renewing hope.  To uncover for each other the layers of uncertainty, and unsettling ideas.

To love is to lighten the way, to remind each other of your true faith and strength that supplies energizing encouragement whenever needed.

To Love is to Laugh…

To Love is to choose to create crazy laughter not critical chaos.

To Let love be laughter because it is built upon a heritage of happiness and joy.

To love is to Create lots of joyful moments, to be able to draw from a full resource of loving laughter.

To Love is to Linger…

To stretch out in all of love’s grandeur.  To let your passion flow beyond measure, beyond all possible width, length, depth, or height.

To let time go by unnoticed as you live together a life complete in your commitment to each other.

To linger and bask in the contentment that love so abundantly activates in your hearts.

To love is to linger through the years together in the knowledge that there is no where else you would choose to be.

Only with each other, in all ways, for always.

MAY YOU ALWAYS LONG FOR EACH OTHER’S PRESENCE;

MAY YOU ALWAYS LISTEN TO EACH OTHER WITH HONOR AND RESPECT;

MAY YOU ALWAYS LIGHTEN EACH OTHER WITH FAITH AND TRUST;

MAY YOU ALWAYS CHOOSE TO CREATE JOY WITH LOVE’S CRAZY LAUGHTER;

AND MAY YOU FOREVER LINGER IN THE PEACE OF YOUR SHARED LOVE.