Listen to Love

September 1994.

Listen to Love was tucked away in our belongings.
Allison & I were just beginning life on our own.
Life away from our small town.
Life apart from each other.
We set out for two different worlds - two different colleges - two different lives.

13 years later - in our two different worlds - in our two different lives - we're still friends... best friends.
13 years later - we still have our Listen to Love books tucked away for safe keeping... the awesome, inspiring, poetic book that my mom knew we needed to have as we headed our separate ways. The book she herself had tucked away as her college adventure began.
Listen to Love.

I'm leaving for Montana tomorrow.
So excited.
So ready.
So thrilled to visit this beautiful country my best friend calls home.

My best friend is getting married.
My best friend who knows me almost better than I know myself is becoming a "MRS".
My best friend who has waited patiently for the right "MR" is giddy with excitement.
My best friend has listened to love.

I've been trying to find the perfect words to write in her card.
I've been praying for wisdom in knowing just what to say.
I've been looking in all of the books I own for just the right quote or verse.
I've found it.
It was here all along, sitting on the shelf.
Listen to Love.

Prologue
**Love has many voices. Love sends its greeting in the smile of a friend, the contented sighs of a baby, the felt whispering of the Spirit.
"God is love," says John the Evangelist. "He who dwells in love is dwelling in God, and God in him."
Love speaks in many places. It leans against the neighbor's fence or comes sniffing into a kitchen filled with cooking. It walk amid the bustle of the city streets or stands on a crowded bus.
Love has many moods. Sometimes love is bold and happy or else it is anxious and hesitant. Sometimes it is riotous and demanding, or gentle and relaxed, or even sober and practical. Sometimes love just waits.
Love comes in all seasons. It rides the icy winds of winter and laughs with raindrops in the spring. It wanders through the restless heat of summer and catches leaves of autumn as they fall.

Listen to love.

Inside my copy of this awesome book of reflections, I found a letter Allison wrote to me 13 years ago.
13 years ago... when we were young and thought we knew everything.
13 years ago... when we were excited to start the new adventures that lie ahead of us, and had no idea where we would end up.
13 years ago... when our friendship could have faded - but it didn't.

13 years ago she wrote:

• Love really is a powerful thing and right now I do not believe I will ever understand everything about it.
• Good relationships allow room for error and growth.
• A good relationship is strong enough that words do not always have to be spoken.
• Our friendship means that I have a person in my life who believes in my hopes and dreams and encourages me to fulfill them. It means I have someone whom I can share laughter, hugs, and special times. It means I'm here to be with you.

13 years ago she was writing about us... about the relationships we had... about life at the age of 18.

On Saturday - this Saturday - October 27th, 2007 ... I'm going to give her those same words (plus a few others). I'm going to hand her a copy of those same words that she wrote to me 13 years ago.
The advice she gave is powerful.
The words she wrote are true.
The insight she had is amazing.
The marriage she is about to begin is all about Listening to Love.

Bozeman... here we come.