Jean Vanier, founder of L’Arche homes for developmentally disabled, was asked “What is Love?” His answer is simple, yet striking.
“Love is to reveal to someone: “you are beautiful and you have value.” That is the secret of love. It’s not primarily to do things for people, because then we find our glory in doing things. The secret of love is to reveal to someone that “you are precious,” that “you are beautiful.””
In the practice of NFP we say to our spouse “You are beautifully made…you need no alteration…I accept you as you are…with the powers you have at this moment…I will treat you as a treasure, wonderfully made.”