"so there's this boy, Grace, and - and I kind of like him. what do you think?"
"what do I think, eh? well, let's see. love is patient."
"oh! I've been patient. I have been liking him for three months now, but have not told him this. I'm waiting for the right time and have determined to wait, which takes patience, right?"
"love is kind, though."
"he's nice and kind and gentle. he definitely has qualities I like to see in a guy."
"but lastly, love never fails."
how long does a relationship last? a week? a month? a year or two?
is this truly what God intended love to be? one day giving your heart to someone, to be trampled in the mud the next.
is love just a status? merely an announcement to the world that "you're okay." you are going to make the status quo, because you are hanging onto another man's arm. only then to be changed to "single" again and again.
is love a selfish want of affection? for your "true love" fondle you with attention, and jealousy overcomes the relationship if the other has "feelings" for another person.
is love truly suppose to hurt? for your heart to be shattered into pieces, over and over, again before "Mr. Right" comes along.
my answer is no. because...
love suffers long and is kind. love does not envy. love does not behave itself rudely. love is not puffed up. love does not seek its own. love rejoices in the truth. love bears all things. love endures all things. and love never ever EVER fails.
to-day's love is defined as a mere status, a wavering feeling.
true love is a commitment. it takes time to be grown into a relationship. it is unselfish, self-sacrificing, and endures all things. and it waits patiently.
love always,
love always,
the keeper of the garden.
[photos via pinterest]
Amen! There are so many hurting people because they are simply doing what every one else does: *date, break-up, date.* Repeat from *-* It's awful and what's sad is that it's probably the reason for most- if not all- divorces in our culture.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy and comforted to know God is raising up a generation of people who don't want this to be their status quo... And I'm glad to have so many of my friends are blessed with this new outlook on love.
love your,
turkey
So true, Grace! It is so sad to see girls just plain obsessed with guys and "being in love"{even though they do not know what true love is}. I pray that Christ will show them that there is a better way!!! True love is not a fuzzy feeling, but an action.
ReplyDeletexoxo,
Miriam
I just realized something, dear friend! I was just writing a blog post on this subject when I read yours! =D I suppose great minds think alike, eh?
ReplyDeleteThis is such a wonderful post, Grace! It is so important for our relationship with Christ to be supreme over all other relationships. His will is best, and He knows exactly who we should be with in the future!
ReplyDeleteMany Blessings,
Jenna
P.S. I miss talking with you, and hope all is well! :)
You're exactly correct. This was a lovely post, dear. :)
ReplyDeletehugs,
~bree
Loved what you said! So true!
ReplyDeleteFunny because this thought has been on my mind so much lately...
That is so true... thank you for sharing, Grace!
ReplyDelete--Mikailah
www.maid4him.blogspot.com
so sweet, so true! how romantic, too =")
ReplyDeletexoxo,
Jessica @ Diary of a Beautiful Soul
"Love" isn't eve "love" any more. We use it so often- "I LOVED that movie, I love this meal. I love this shirt. I love this, that, etc, etc". We've lost the meaning for it. What's fun to do, actually, is to say that I love a guy. Not just like him. And the truth be told, I love many of my guy friends... but, not in the sense that you might be thinking. I'm loving them with "Phillio" love, Brotherly Love.
ReplyDeleteWe need to love God with an Agapa love, an everlasting love. He loves us like that. His love has no bounds. We need to be on fire for Christ! Let's love our brothers in Christ AS brothers and nothing else... and focus on loving Christ even more.
If we don't focus on loving Him right now while we are single, we're going to have a tough time once we're married because we will have the special guy in our lives. And, your foundation for marriage should be on each other's love for Christ, above all else.
Thanks for this post, Grace!! I hope my comment wasn't rambling too much... :)
This is perfect. Pure love is supposed to be a picture of God's love for us. If we were to take the world's picture of love, the impression we would be left with is that it would be okay to love this god until he picks a new favorite, then move on to this god, until he doesn't let me do what I want, and then move on to this god, until he...etc. By the time we have found "Mr. Right", in this case our true Heavenly Father, we will have so much hurt to deal with.
ReplyDeleteInstead, we are to prepare for the time when we will be together and not be distracted, for when he will appear(reappear!) in our lives. It makes me think of the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the subject!
Wow! What a beautiful post Grace! Thank you so much for sharing this! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Our culture really has diminished the meaning of love. Thanks for reminding us of what true love is. :)
ReplyDeleteI really like this.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right, Grace.
~Camille