One spring morning I was walking along a path in the woods near my home. Suddenly a rabbit bound across the path. This rabbit looked a bit roughed up; its fur was sparse and uneven. As I stepped closer, the rabbit casually hopped to a grove of small trees a few yards away. As I resumed my walk, a slight movement in the grass caught my eye. Stooping down, I saw four tiny creatures in a clump of grass. They were rabbit kits. Only two and a half inches long, hairless, and blind, they were totally helpless. Their nest had been dug down into the earth. Leaves and grass had been arranged to form a camouflaged home. But the most striking feature was that the inside of the nest had been completely lined with fur--rabbit fur. Then it hit me. That scraggy-furred rabbit I had just seen was the mother of this precious litter. Not only had she carried her young through pregnancy, endured labor and delivery pains, prepared a nest, and patiently nursed and protected them to this point, she had also given of herself. Painfully, she had pulled out great clumps of fur to line the nest, thus providing a soft, warm environment for her fragile kits.

—author unknown   . 

Cupid

No one worships the gods of ancient Rome or Greece. Those religions are extinct and their study is relegated to scholars of the ancient cultures and literature. Though the gods are not worshiped they are remembered in the finest productions of poetry and art, both ancient and modern. One minor Roman god, cupid, remains present in modern society today. He is one of the favorite symbols of love and St. Valentine's Day. Knowledge of his name, his winged form and his bow and arrows are commonplace.

Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. He is known as a mischievous, winged child. Armed with bow and arrows, he shot the arrows of desire into the bosoms of both gods and men. Once their heart was pierced with his arrow the victims would fall deeply in love. In ancient Greece he was known as Eros the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Roman's he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.

Wrongly, he is perceived to be angel-like and a child. Cupid's personality was anything but angelic. He was quite mischievous and many of his deeds resulted in tragic endings for his victims. Cupid was not always childlike and after the birth of his brother Anteros, he rapidly grew to become a winged man. Cupid later married Psyche and they produced a child named Pleasure.

One legend tells the story of Cupid and the mortal maiden, Psyche. His mother, Venus, was jealous of the beauty of Psyche. She ordered Cupid to punish the mortal. But instead, Cupid fell deeply in love with her. He took her as his wife, but as a mortal she was forbidden to look at him. Psyche was happy until her sisters convinced her to look at Cupid. Cupid punished her by departing. Their lovely castle and gardens vanished with him and Psyche found herself alone in an open field.

As Psyche wandered to find her love, she came upon the temple of Venus. Wishing to destroy her, the goddess of love gave Psyche a series of tasks, each harder and more dangerous than the previous. For her last task Psyche was given a little box and told to take it to the underworld. She was told to get some of the beauty of Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, and put it in the box. Then she was warned not to open the box. Temptation overcame Psyche and she opened the box. But instead of finding beauty, she found deadly slumber. Cupid found her lifeless on the ground. He gathered the sleep from her body and put it back in the box. Cupid and Venus forgave her. The gods were so moved by Psyche's love for Cupid that they made her a goddess.

LOVE Quotation

Put Together By God

Like a tree,
I cannot move my roots,
for yours are intertwined among them.
Let us both be strong in God,
yet weak enough to draw from each other.
We are not rocks.
We are not islands.
We are lovers
whom God has put together.

– Harold L. Myra, Marriage Partnership, Vol. 5, no. 1.