True love....
Where does this deep, ever lasting love come from? The kind of love that can weather the storm. It maybe scarred love, or sometimes weary love, but it's forever love..
Life has a way of trying love, testing it, to see if it is still strong, can this love still make it? Does it have what it takes to last another 10, 15, 20 yrs? YES! 100 TIMES YES!! Why? Because it's the love that God put together, and no man can tear asunder..
I know, I know, you are thinking "Wow, this is sounding so dismal and desolate. Where is this coming from?" Lol, don't worry.. my husband and I are fine.. I had a dream last night, a very vivid dream.
In my dream, my husband and I, were dressed in formal attire, in a huge ballroom type setting. People were walking and standing around talking to each other laughing and enjoying each others company. It seemed everyone was "catching up". A man, approached us, and said "Wow, you two, look amazing! You look so in love, still, after all these years!" That's it, I woke up...
I don't have any idea if it has any significant meaning, or if it is because I had Mucinex and Nestle Quik before bed. What I do know, is I woke thinking about this kind of love, everlasting love...love that last a lifetime and beyond. It is said that God has an everlasting love for us, but can we have an everlasting love for each other? What is the difference between God's love for us, and our love for each other?
Mr Webster defines love this way,
Love: Noun: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties Verb: to hold dear, to cherish.
God defines love differently.. not as a feeling, but as instruction, as a way to minister, as a guide for life.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
I Corinthians 13:4-7
It's these principles outlined in the word of God that show us how to have a strong, lasting marriage. I often ask myself, how do marriages last without God as the center, without His instruction.
It is no secret marriage can be a challenge, even in the best of circumstances. There are times, when life is great! You couldn't ask for a better season, then out of nowhere, comes the worst... illness, death, finances, problems with your children, extended family, intimacy, bitterness, job situation, time management, the list goes on and on... some days you may just want to throw your hands up in frustration and yell " God, why did you take my bowl of cherries and leave me with rotten tomatoes?"
But God... we hold fast to what we know is true, that God has shared with us an everlasting love, and that is our example. We are to love the way He has instructed us to ...
About that dream...
What about my husband and I looked "in love"? In the dream, we were standing a normal distance apart, not touching, we were not even holding hands.. So what does "in love" look like? Well, I suppose there would be a sparkle in the eyes, a glow to the cheeks, a telling smile that we would normally expect... and YES, 100 TIMES YES, love can look like that in a new relationship or a 33yr old relationship, or a 60 yr old relationship.
But what I am asking is what does a life long love that is God centered "look like"?
Sometimes this kind of love looks like, caring for each other in illness, let's make it real girls, who holding your hair back when your sicker than a dog? Sometimes, it's navigating financial stress, and realizing we have to rely on two incomes. Real love, starts to look different, when our bodies change because we have had our bitty babies.. Long lasting love, loves more than ever through those changes, because its about more than the outside. "In love" looks different after we have cared for a passing parent. In love, loves more than ever when the spouse cares as much for the mother in law as the daughter does. Lasting love, knows all the insecurities, frailties, fears, and covers them. "Looking in Love" makes the invisible feel visible.
Even now, as I am writing, I am realizing that "in love" look, is knowledge. It is knowledge shared between husband and wife, that says "I know everything about you, and you know everything about me, and all that we have been through. All that we have struggled with, and all that we have overcome. I know everything you are feeling, and my love is covering, protecting you. You know my weaknesses and you have my back. I am your person in this room and you are mine!"
THAT is what "in love" looks like!
Every marriage needs the I Cor 13:4-7 standard. Apply it today!
I hope this has blessed you,
love always,
J
