By  Joseph J. Mazzella

I can still remember the first time a girl broke up with me.

I was just a teenager. I was riding that hormonal high that a young love brings. The sky seemed brighter. The clouds locked whiter. I went through my days with a silly grin on my face. I held up my mom’s phone line with calls to my girlfriend that lasted for hours.

Then, suddenly, she said that she didn’t want to see me anymore. I was crushed.  My heart felt like it had fallen off a cliff. I was lower than low. The sunniest sky still seemed dark and gray. I went through my days sulky and sad. My mom got her phone back because I didn’t want to talk to anybody. Instead, I went for long walks in the woods with only my dog for company. I wondered if I would ever feel happy again.

Of course, in time, I did begin to heal and feel happy again. I learned too that young, romantic love is only a drop in the ocean of love in this universe. In the years to come, I learned the love of being a son. I learned the love of marriage. I learned the love of being a father. I learned the love of caring for animals. I learned the love of friendship. I learned to love this world. I learned to love life itself. I also learned of this highest Love of all: the love that our heavenly father has for all of us. It is from this love that all the other loves flow. It is from this love that we were created. It is to this love that we all seek to return. It is this love that I welcome into my heart every single day and try to share with the world.

Always know that you are loved! You are loved by a higher love than you can ever comprehend here on Earth. You are loved by God today, tomorrow, and forever. Open your heart to this love. Allow God to love you. Allow God to guide you. Allow god to strengthen your own love so that you can make this world a better, more beautiful, and more loving place. If you do then happiness will be yours to enjoy and to share.