By Kyla Hurt and Sue Lambie
Janet Cox says she has been a Christian her whole life, even collecting Bibles and hymnals over the years to read or study. Born in the Chandlerville area and raised on a farm, she later married and the two moved to Virginia.
After their divorce and subsequent death of her husband, Cox remained in Virginia. Now, the 79-year-old Cox shares bits of the presence of religion in her life.
Cox shares, “I’ll tell you what I enjoy doing, if you don’t mind. … In 2013, I went and took a peace [lily] plant to Chandlerville Christian Church to share that Jesus wanted peace. I also bought red roses … [they] symbolize that God is love. … I also put white candles out for purity. …I love doing things for the church. I enjoy doing all that.”
Recently, Cox was at home watching the television and came across a program with a minister who was discussing different ways to show love.
Cox says she became curious and began to ask a random assortment of people about ways to show love. She recalls asking a couple who were seated inside the Jacksonville Hardee’s and a man in Petersburg who was holding a bouquet of red roses, to name a few. She explains, “I just wanted to go and do it. A lot of people got mad at me because I went out [and posed the question].”
In the end, she had compiled a handwritten list of 25 ideas, which she entitled, “Different ways to show love: Religious show[ing of] these things.”
Cox also noted at the top of the first page of her list that, “God and Jesus want you to do this (In time you can do them all).”
According to Cox, there are many different ways to show love during our lives — what a lovely thought.
Different ways to show love
Compiled by Janet Cox
- Kiss and hug each other in front of your children and tell them you love them.
- Be honest with your children.
- Read the Bible together with your children.
- Tell your husband or wife that you love them.
- Kiss your husband or wife on the lips.
- Bible verse — Greet one another with a holy kiss.
- Write to someone a love letter — you can send them a poem.
- Open a car door for the woman.
- Say a prayer (each one of you) at meal time.
- Hold hands together.
- Go to church as a family.
- Pick out Bible verses that have love in them.
- Smile at each other.
- Give a bouquet of flowers to a loved one. If you want to say thank you, pray and say it to the one that told me or showed me.
- In the Bible, it says sing. You can have loved ones go to religious music singing.
- Pray for peace together as a family so Jesus and God know how you feel.
- I know Jesus and God don’t want anybody to hurt other people. They want people to show love.
- Parents, kiss your children goodnight.
- Comment to the one who fixed the meal.
- Tell someone thank you for the good deed they have done for you.
- Maybe you can think of love as something to share.
- Bible verse — Husbands, love your wife.
- Thanking people for an award.
- Thank the minister if he shows loving words in sermon to his congregation.
- If you know someone needs to be thanked, say it.
Caption:
Photo/Kyla Hurt
Janet Cox, seated, holds a copy of her list detailing some different ways to show love to others. Her home care aid, Janet Gregory, stands behind her with one of Cox’s hymnals. The hymnal, “Songs of the Church,” bears a stamp inside the cover from Christ’s Church in Olney and is opened to a fill-in property page that lists “A SONG BOOK’S TEN COMMANDMENTS” in the center. Cox was especially tickled by the checklist of dos and don’ts in this particular hymnal, which included such points as “4. Thou shalt not use me to hit the babies.” and “8. Thou shalt not use me as a fan,” for instance.
