Valentine's Day is big, but what comes after February 14th?
Now, that's the real issue, isn't it?
Over the years I've teased out the differences between what I thought as a young romantic and what I know now.
Dreams vs. reality
*The darling man I would marry would wow me with beautiful gestures of love.
The darling man I did marry wowed me by quietly living out love.
*Beforehand, I assumed marriage to the man I truly loved would be easy.
Afterward, I discovered real marriage to the real man I truly loved sometimes grew tense and a slight chill descended, but if we kept talking we could work it through.
*The mate I saw in my imagination would never be too busy to listen to my ramblings.
The mate I saw over the kitchen table sometimes seemed preoccupied, but he heard what was on my heart.
*The lover in my romantic dreams regularly would lapse into extravagant declarations of love, like a movie hero who makes his lady swoon.
The lover in my 24/7 life saw me at my absolute worst more than once and declared me still beautiful to him, which made me swoon.
*My future husband would be one who stood for truth and beauty and what is right and of course, everyone would look up to him.
My real life husband lived out his faith in Jesus in his everyday doings--and all the rest followed.
*The one I dreamed of making a life with would come home with a happy heart and swing me off my feet.
The one I shared a life with loved being home and his heart was happy if mine was. Always, he could "swing me off my feet" with that smile.
*The young man I fell in love with could give me "butterflies in my stomach" with a smile or an arm around my waist.
The always-young man I married still gave me flutters with that certain smile or that certain hug.
*Before marriage I supposed I could only fall in love with an exceptional man.
After marriage I came to understand my husband and I were one ordinary man and one ordinary woman. Our day-after-day mutual love and support transformed us into something special--at least in each other's eyes. Who could ask for more?
By now you know me better
You've figured out I used words in past tense. Yes, my forever Valentine went home to Jesus some months ago, after years of declining health.
I will love him and miss him all my days, but I am thankful and at peace. The Lord gifted us many decades in which to love each other and live our together life. We both were blessed--and we knew it.
More and more as the years flew by, we understood how the Lord watched over us and our family. We could see how He supplied strength for each day, in our best of times, sure, but also when we hit a rough patch.
We each could echo the words of my favorite grandmother, whom I saw last when she was 99:
"God has been so good to me. He never left me alone for a minute!"
Reasons we can love and live in trust
[Jesus said] A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
God is good, my friends. Let us rejoice and be glad in Valentine's Day--and every day!
Lovingly,
Lenore
