By Bill Herr

The theme of love finds its way into many songs over the years. In 1955, the popular hit "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" was first recorded by the group The Four Aces. Later, it became even more loved when recorded by Nat King Cole and Andy Williams. The first lyrics are as follows:

Love is a many splendored thing,
It's the April rose that only grows in the early spring,
Love is nature's way of giving a reason to be living.

When Valentine's Day approaches, love comes to mind in many men's thoughts. They take a long time browsing over Valentine's cards in stores, looking to find the perfect expression of their love for the recipient.

There are many forms of love - love of spouse, love of children, love of friends, love of church, love of pets, love of jobs, love of certain foods and drinks, and it goes on and on. The word "love" occurs many times in the Bible: 310 times in the King James Bible (KJV), 550 in the New International Version (NIV), and 680 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Christians know that Jesus demonstrated love many times in his short life.

Teachers often offer love to their students. A teacher friend of mine taught first grade for 46 years. She told me a little girl in her class asked, "Mrs. Stoodt, why do you treat us so nice?" She replied, "Because I like you."

My third-grade teacher announced as Valentine's Day came near, that we would have a special project that day. She passed out little Valentines with a pretty picture on one side and a blank back for writing.

Receiving the same number of valentines as there were students in the class, we also received a paper with all our names. She asked us to write on the back of each Valentine a classmate's name, and write something we liked about that person.

The next day, each of us received an envelope that contained only the cards written about us. There were a lot of smiles as we read the positive comments. I'll never forget the glow I felt as I rode the bus home to show my mother what our teacher had done. Elementary teachers are creative in their methods of teaching students.

When I was chaplain at Mennonite Memorial Home, I witnessed examples of love. My favorite was by the nurse, Ramona, who befriended a resident who was unshaven and whose speech was garbled. He never spoke to anyone, and no one spoke to him, except Ramona. He had no family, but Ramona knew that he used to be a neighbor to her grandmother. She often spoke to the resident and gave him hugs. She gave him a Christmas card and he would sit in the hall. When someone walked by, he would say, "Look, I got a Christmas card." Ramona made sure the resident received love.

Love is a powerful force and comes in many multifaceted forms. The song that hit the top of the charts in 1955 ends with the line, "Yes, true love's a many splendored thing."