It's Saint Valentine's Day today. On my way to class early this morning I was reflecting on all the love I have received in the last 22 years. My parents have a beautiful marriage, and my siblings and I are products of their love. God has loved me into being, He has loved me through the rough homeschooling years when I was nothing but a terror for my poor mother, He has loved me when I was broken and alone and was by my side as I navigated the dreadful high school hallways, He loved me as I left home for the first time, He loved me through and despite every mistake, and He made me new again.
Between those 2 examples alone I have had more than enough fruitful and wholesome examples of love to look up to. I am thankful for that. Five years ago I fell in love for the first time. He too has loved me through many hard time, and has been with me as I grew into adulthood. He has seen me at my very best and he has seen me at my very worst, and still he loves me.
Love really is a gift. And, I realized this morning that I am so incredibly blessed by the love I receive from my parents, from God, from Troy, from my sisters and brothers and through my friends. And, I think I was, unknowingly, taking for granted that love. Until this morning.
I thought about the girls in my class (there is something like 38 students, and only 2 men...) on my way to the school this morning. Many have boyfriends, or friends with benefits... many have children and they are all preparing for careers that will require giving a whole lot of love.
But there is something else I have noticed. Many of them are barely 30, and have at least one child (which is beautiful), but of those who have children I would say probably only 2 of them are married. That is sad, but what saddens me even more is that most have them have been married. They are 30 years old (or younger), have a family and divorce papers. It's hard to keep an optimistic view of marriage in our world when this is becoming the norm.
So, what went wrong? It's hard to say, I guess. But, I have discovered that maybe it isn't so hard to pinpoint after all... love has become disposable. We are lending a hand in this divorce epidemic by presenting the view to the world that love isn't something that needs time or work. We cannot sugar-coat relationships or provide advice that consists of the sentence, "Maybe you have just fallen out of love with him." We need to be real, and honest. Love is a choice that is made in every moment of every day. And, love is impossible without God. Yes, impossible. I am not saying it's harder without God, or different without God. It is truly impossible without God IS love...without Him love cannot exist in our world. Not only is God the maker, creator and giver or love, but He is also the perfect example of love. He never gives up on us...and we are as imperfect as imperfect can get. We need to seek after His wisdom and example and enter every relationship in life with the understanding that romance is not present every moment of life, and we may have a crappy day or our friend, spouse, parent or sibling may treat us terribly sometimes (guarantee you treat them like crap sometimes too!) or you just may not feel in love. But love is more than a feeling...it's a choice and the result of it is more beautiful and miraculous than you could ever imagine.
Make sure people in your life know you love them today... even if you don't feel like it.
St. Valentine, please pray for us.
Emily xo
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