This I Believe: On Love

Introduction 1

The Love I Choose 5
Jessica Mercer Zerr

They Built a Family 8
Laura J. K. Chamberlain

A New Kind of Love 11
Rachel Wegner

In My Father’s Tears 14
Lawrence Kessenich

The Beauty of Aging 17
Debi Knight Kennedy

The Gift of Being 20
Lorraine Kelly

Gray Hairs and Wrinkles 23
Fabiola Piña

Love is Stronger Than Death 26
Opal Ruth Prater

Come to My Table 29
Shannon Lee Denney

My Best Friend 32
Raymond Allinger

Leave the Light On 35
Marianne Rogowski

How We Love Our Enemies 38
David Waln

What We Tried to Do 41
Louise V. Gray

The Most Powerful Medicine 44
Ross Hays

The Value of Your Life 47
Jenna Greer

Hand-Knit Socks 50
Debra Bronow

Deciding to Love Her 53
Amy Simmons Farber

Love on Four Feet 56
Sarah Culp Searles

A Walk in the Woods Together 59
Cindy Lollar

Sam’s Valentine 62
Kathy Heffernan

To Dwell in Possibility 65
Patricia W. Bennett

Duck Blind Lessons 69
James Johnson

First Friend 72
Susan Senator

Amazing Grace 75
Korinthia Klein

Love Lives through Them All 78
Tanuj Bansal

Brotherly Love 81
Katie Weiner

Old Love 84
Jane R. Martin

Pink Moments 87
Connie Spittler

Love Like a Child 90
Mary Lineberger

A Death He Freely Accepted 93
Greg Gatjanis

The Blessings of Step 96
Janet Jayne

Here’s to You, Merrie 99
Jordyn Maeda

God Knows about Sacrifice 102
Lynne Scott

Love is a Verb 105
Sarah Stadler

The Friend Who Makes Me Complete 108
Penny Hagin

A Magical Impact 111
Jeremy Green

Put on Your Heavy Coat 115
Ellen Graf

God is in Her Hand 118
John Samuel Tieman

A Gift of Unique Beauty 121
Cynthia Chauhan

Four Sisters in Life and Death 124
Elynne Chaplik-Aleskow

My Family Tree 127
Brenda Huff

Staying Close 130
Ginny Taylor

Love on Aisle Three 133
David Wuescher

Swing-Shift Kisses 136
Scott Saalman

The Courage to Let Go 139
Gale A. Workman

All the Mothering You Do 142
Patrice Vecchione

Life is a Battle 145
Elliana Grace

I Believe in You 148
Julie Chinitz

Show and Tell 151
Ann Erik

A Tender Lullaby 154
Lee Reeves

The Yellow House 157
Julie M. Sellers

A Powerful Act of Love 160
Susan Hall

Pennies from Heaven 163
Reg Stark

Who We Really Are Inside 166
Matthew Schmidt

Creation is the Creator 169
Vicki Watson

The Power of Friendship 172
Nadia Ann Henderson

To Love the Person in Front of Me 175
Karla Gergen

Love from Head to Toe 178
Lorena Templeton Querns

Made by Hand 181
Mary Mrugalski

A Dog’s Life 184
Fred Flaxman

Appendix: How to Write Your Own 187
This I Believe Essay

Acknowledgments 189