I have meet some great people on flickr. In fact, I can honestly say that there are people I have never met in real life and still I love them deeply.   I know for people who are not on flickr, it is a difficult community to understand. For me, it has been a place where I have made some wonderful friends.  I have met people from all over the globe.  I get to see parts of this beautiful world everyday.  I have a contact in Poland who has made me want to see Poland so badly that I am trying to convince my husband to take me there for our 20th anniversary.  He has a contact in Iceland who has made him want to go to Iceland.  Who would have though that Iceland and Poland would be the go to places for your 20th wedding anniversary?  But if you saw what we have seen… you would agree.

There is one contact in particular who points outs hearts in my pictures. Almost everyday, she tags (wraps a little box) around hearts she finds.  This is not something she does just for me. She does it for all of her contacts.  So each day, I will post a picture and each day she finds a heart.  Each day all of her contacts post a picture and each day she must search for hundreds of  hearts.  It has always made me smile. Everyday I have fallen a little more in love with her and her eye for hearts.

Yesterday, I scanned this shot. As it loaded onto my screen, I started finding hearts.  Hearts were jumping out at me and each one made me think of her.  I kept thinking about how much she would love this.  Because it is film? Maybe.  Because it is leaves surrounded by bokeh in the middle of fall?  Possibly.  But really, the main reason I thought of her was because of the love I found.

Then it hit me. Am I a love finder? Do I search for love? Sometimes. When there are children, I can easily find the love. With my friends, I find the love. Where there is the lost, I find the love.   However, there is a group of people I never find love for.  They have hurt me. They have offended me. They have brought injustice to me or to people I love.  Is this what I was made for? To search and find love in just the easy places? I don’t think so. I really do believe that love is patient and kind.  I believe it seeks the best in others and does not keep a record of wrongs. I believe Love hates injustice and evil, but rejoices in truth.  I know of a love that protects, hopes and preservers in all things.

Today I will seek love in hope of finding it.  I will spend enough time with the broken that I find their whole parts. I will forget myself long enough to love the selfish. I overlook the offensive and look for the charming.  Because love is not something that will land in our lap each morning; it is something we need to search for.

Will it be easy?  No.  However, I think if we are brave enough to search for love, we will find it in each other.  Because, while we are all a little broken, selfish and offensive… we are all worth the search.