When I was a little girl I dreamed of getting married to my knight in shining armor and living happily ever after. I envisioned my husband and I having children together, living in our dream home, and traveling the world as a family. Then I grew up and realized that marriage is not really about living the fairy tale story. It is so much more than that.
I believe marriage is a gift given to us from God to make our lives richer and more fulfilling. It mirrors God’s relationship with his people and is the most intimate relationship you can experience with another human on earth. God designed it for two to become one in purpose, to share similar values, beliefs, goals and dreams and to compliment one another.
So what is true love? What does it look like and how can we attain it? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of true love is one truly beloved or loving: SWEETHEART. There are many verses in the bible about love and genuine love is outwardly focused on others. A bible verse that illustrates what love is and what it is not is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
While I did not get married to my knight in shining armor, I did say I do to my true love, to my sweetheart, to Danny. On March 21, 1998, Danny and I made a covenant before God, our family and our friends and exchanged our wedding vows.
When I expressed my vows that day, there was no doubt in my mind that I had made the right decision. I was so happy and excited about the adventures we would share together as husband and wife! I knew we would face some challenges in the days ahead but I believed with all my heart that we would survive whatever we encountered.
While our journey together has been filled with so much joy it has not always been a bed of roses. We have experienced the “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, and in sickness and in health” along the way. I am grateful for the challenges that have come our way because that is when we learned what it means to truly love someone.
As each year passes, we learn more about ourselves and each other. We just celebrated our 24th anniversary recently and in some ways it it feels like we were tying the knot just yesterday. I remember the day well! The weather was beautiful. The sun was shining, the spring flowers were in full bloom and we were surrounded by our family and friends who were there to support us on our special day. I felt so happy in knowing that I had found the man of my dreams. I was marrying my soulmate.
As I reflect over the past 24 years, I rejoice as I think about the laughter we have shared and wonderful memories we have made together. We have also shed some tears as we endured the pain associated with crisis and conflict in our journey as a couple. Thankfully we have always found a way to forgive one another and reconcile our differences by putting into practice the sage advice our pastor gave us during our premarital counseling. He said to always remember these ten words…I love you, I’m sorry, please forgive me and thank you. I know those words well and have expressed them numerous times over the years!
In closing, my hope for you is that you find your true love. It may take time but but it will be well worth the wait for the right person to come along. Also, before you make the decision to get married, make a commitment to yourself to really go deep within and take a look at your beliefs about yourself and others. Your present world stems from your consciousness and concept of yourself. When you are in alignment with your divine self, the beautiful, amazing person that God created, YOU, that is when you will attract your ideal partner, your true love.
If you need guidance in this process of going within let’s get the conversation started! I genuinely care and want to support you in expanding your self awareness.
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