"journey's end at lover's meeting"

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.

 Because this is what love is. 

Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. 

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we 

found that we were one tree and not two." 

-St. Augustine

If music be the food of love, then play on. - William Shakespeare

Though our feelings come and go, God's love for us does not. - CS Lewis

A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.- Ingrid Bergman

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I just thought I would share some of my favorite quotes on love, since it's the week of Valentine's. I am quite the romantic, despite my natural tendency toward realism (some of you might call it pessimism). Romanticism and realism (cough, cough, pessimism) rarely go hand in hand, but somehow I function just fine. :) 

I could watch Pride & Prejudice over and over all day, surround myself with stacks of Keats poetry, Shakespeare's sonnets (although Shakespeare was kind of a downer), and Jane Austen novels, weep all of my tears because Fannie Price just isn't as charming or beautiful as Mary Crawford and just can't seem to win ... and then gag at people around me smooching in public or men who are clearly whipped by their overdressed, under-clothed girlfriends.

I think men sometimes over-think romance and put too much pressure on themselves. Romance means something different to everyone. Putting romance in the "flowers, candy, candlelight" box is just unfair. The best part about romance is creativity. Am I wrong?

               ro-mance n.

1.  
1. A love affair.
2. Ardent emotional attachment between people; love
2.  
1. love, esp romantic love idealized for its purity or beauty
2. a spirit of or inclination for adventure, excitement or mystery

Jeff and I have been together for almost 6 years. We know A LOT about each other. In fact, he says I'm predictable. Psh....

Despite how well we know each other, there is still an element of mystery and adventure in our relationship. I am so glad that God designed all of us to be so complex to keep life exciting. After 6 years, the butterflies in my stomach aren't there anymore, but that's not romance or love. It's the little things. Knowing that he'll be there when I get home, or that he will always love me despite my tendency to curse when I hurt myself, and that he will ALWAYS, without fail, make me laugh when I absolutely do not want to- that's what makes me excited. He still surprises me with random facts, stories I'd never heard, and with his ability to silently appear out of nowhere (I swear, the man is like a cat). Romance goes much deeper than superficial, temporary things. It's a feeling that is stirred; an emotion triggered. 

Ultimately, though, it is selfless. The Bible says a lot about love. But in Ephesians 5, it talks first about submitting to Christ. Without Christ, there is not true love. Have you noticed that the more consistent you are in the Word, the closer you feel to your husband/wife? I have. That's because marriage is meant to be a reflection of the love God has for his children. In submitting to Christ, you are setting yourself aside- allowing Christ to be prominent. It goes on to say that husbands are to love their wives as they love their own bodies. We are selfish people. To put someone else's well-being as high/higher up than our concern for our own is a big sacrifice. We're called to love each other as Christ loves the church. And as we all know, Christ died on a cross, undeservingly, for an undeserving people. 

There is such weight, and at the same time, freedom, in that. 

I actually didn't intend to write about all this. I was going to tell you to pray for Jeff's mom. Pray for Jeff's mom, and all our family. The Lord is sovereign and faithful, but pray his favor over her body. 

I love you. L O V E you. all of you. Happy Valentine's. Go eat some sugary-sweet-bad-for-you treats. Just not these nasty conversation hearts. blegh...