An Igbo adage says 'E buru ozu onyeozo, o di ka o bu nku' meaning 'when its someone else's corpse that is carried away, it seems to an onlooker as firewood'.

It is easy to forget our frailties when we feel healthy, it is easy to take people as worthless when they are unable to provide, it is easy to forget all their sacrifices in a second. We are quick to back out of our relationships and even marriages when the going gets tough. But that is not love, love shows concern for others.

Love brings calmness to that troubled situation: do not let the bad times escalate by your added uneasiness. Hold your partner, look him/her in the eyes, give him that big hug of encouragement when it seems all hope is lost. Do not respond to his nagging, do not respond to his new attitude borne out of anger. Just be there to remind him of one most valued thing, your support.

Love stays through thick and thin: its not a time to find your way, its the time to find a way out of the situation. Do not by word or action, show attempts to leave. What hurt Christ most was not only the suffering, it was seeing people He just wined and dined with, desert him at His time of distress. It was seeing Peter deny Him 3 times. It was their being unable to even watch and pray with Him for just 1 hour.

Love gives even what she has not received: How do you express your love to someone when you are waiting to be shown love first? it's not true love if you always wait to receive before you give. It doesn't matter if you just met him and he suddenly begins to have (genuine) problems. There is no too soon in kindness, you never know how soon will be late. As a matter of fact, we all have in one way or another depended on the kindness of strangers, imagine what your lot would have been if they considered your 'asking for direction' to be 'too soon'.

Love doesn't expect a pay back: Christ said,
''but love your enemies (friends too) and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great''. In love, you may not get as much as you give out. True kindness is to give to someone, something they may never be able to give back. It gives you peace of mind and you don't have to humiliate them later with expressions like 'after all I have done for you'.

Love reciprocates kindness: love is kindness and one good turn deserves another. It's not enough to expect to be loved in thick and thin, you must also be willing to do so when it gets to your turn. Nothing breaks the heart more than a lovelorn. Learn to give with the measure with which you receive. It strengthens the soul that gives and spurs it to be even more kind.

I am neither rich nor poor but my heart is filled with love. Become an advocate of love, Love is Kind!