LOVE GROWS HERE

I arrived at their house in early afternoon. They were out at their pool and had left the front door unlocked for me to go in. The sign on the door read, "Love Grows Here", and that stopped me in my tracks. I thought for a couple of seconds before I entered. Yes. I know this couple well enough to know that it wasn't just a sweet sign on a door. This was a very true statement for this couple of 42 years.

The sign has haunted me since. Truthfully, I could not hang that sign in my entryway. But, what would my sign say? "Love is Here If You Look for It." "Love is in Here Somewhere." "We Try to Get Along." "I Guess We Do Love One Another." Wow. It stabs me in the heart to think of this sign.

What a beautiful statement after 42 years. I told this to my friends while we lounged in the pool. The husband stopped for a moment, then with a smile said,  "Yeah. It does." She leveled her gaze at me and said, "What a nice compliment."

I wondered how many of us could make such an assertion. We certainly want our friends to think it so, but, do they? Does it matter? Why does it matter? "Reside Here"? Probably. But, "Grows Here"?

Somehow, thinking of the difference between, "Love Grows Here" and "Love Resides Here" makes me sad.