Cover It With Love Story
In a world filled with noise—opinions, expectations, and endless advice—it's easy to lose sight of what truly matters to you. Everywhere you look, there are voices telling you how to find success, how to shape your purpose, how to become your best self in just a few simple steps. But the real journey isn’t about following someone else’s roadmap—it’s about discovering your own. It’s about tuning out the distractions and reconnecting with the truth of who you are. Your purpose isn’t something to be handed to you; it’s something to be discovered, uncovered, and relentlessly covered in something unique in you. In Corporate America, there is lots of talk about staying in your swimlane as a representative of focusing on what you or your company does best - speed, strength, skill (value proposition) rather than drift into another swimmer’s space, place or pace. In the Book Blue Ocean Strategy this concept is taught that instead of competing in crowded, cutthroat "red oceans," businesses should create uncontested market space—"blue oceans"—by innovating, redefining value, and breaking industry norms. These pictures of swim lanes and ocean colors were very effective teachers for me not only in business, they were extremely valuable to me personally.
It was in 2023, I was just laid off from one of the largest companies in the world and although I was planning to retire in 2024, it was a little unexpected and found myself in a unique position after almost 40 of making a living to sit back and ponder who I was and what drove me. I had the luxury of being invited to participate in so many noble activities, positions of leadership, responsibility and influence and had just wrapped a class that I taught titled “Love Like That: 5 Relationship Secrets from Jesus by Les Parrott. A best selling book that explores how people can develop deeper, more meaningful relationships by following Jesus’ example of love and the five key traits that define Christlike love. The practical advice encouraged me and my students how it was possible to transform their relationships by loving more like Jesus. The feedback was tremendous.
There I was, with time on my hands, reflecting on what I valued, what I had been teaching, what I had learned, and what I truly loved to do. I wondered how I could be effective in this new season, so I prayed to God for guidance. In the stillness, I was finally quiet enough to hear Him, and He spoke clearly to my spirit: “Love People”. That was it! I had been tweeting under the pseudonym Love People since 2013, and whenever I faced challenges or someone came to me for advice, my response was always, Cover it with love. It was my strength, and from that, www.coveritwithlove.com was born. I was shocked that the domain was available—and so was my husband. I still remember the day I searched for it and made the purchase. I called out, “Hey honey, I’m going to launch a website to create a space for what I want to do. Guess what it’s called?”
"Cover It With Love!"
Did you know that the word Love appears in the Bible between 310 and 684 times depending on the translation (See webpage on Love). In a world that seems to be more focused on stirring up trouble or pointing out people’s faults, I choose and challenge others to reach people by modeling Christlike love:
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Be Mindful – Paying full attention to others rather than being distracted or self-focused.
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Be Approachable – Creating a welcoming and warm presence that invites connection.
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Be Grace-filled – Offering kindness and forgiveness instead of judgment.
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Be Bold – Speaking truth with love and courage, even when it’s uncomfortable.
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Be Self-giving – Putting others’ needs before your own without expecting anything in return.
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One of the ways I model self-giving without expecting anything in return is through what I call “Bringing the Hanky Back.” A personal ministry about cherishing simple things and honoring the women in my family who have gone before me, imparting timeless lessons on grace and the art of being a lady. ​
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So, I carry a stack of hankies with me, each wrapped in a story about why I share hankies where I go. I’ve given away over 2,000 and lovingly earned the title of The Hanky Lady. For me, it's more than just an object; it’s a reminder of tradition, and the profound impact of sharing, spreading, showing and sowing love.
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