Thursday, June 3, 2010

Love is a gift.....do you give & receive?

All of my life....just like every other ridiculously hopeless romantic girl out there......I have waited and searched and dreamed of falling in love....

You've thought about it......

you've played it out in your head....

you've dreamed about it......

you've watched ALL those movies and all those couples....

Harry and Sally (When Harry met Sally); Mandy Moore and Shane West (A Walk to Remember); Kat and Nick (The Wedding Date); Gray and Fritz (Catch and Release); Richard Gere and Debra Winger (Officer and a Gentleman).........

ok ok ok - you get the idea.... girls are now melting out of their chairs and the guys have excused themselves to the bathroom

Many times in life, I got lost on backwards paths and lost focus of what I was really searching for and almost settled for less...several times actually...
But in my heart, I always knew there were so many things that I was looking for.  And I refused to give up faith in that... (no matter HOW many times people told me I was stupid for believing in "fairy tales")
As the years passed, the list grew longer and longer and I began to realize, it was gonna take a very special man to fill that list.  I have since come to realize who I am, who I've become, what I need and what I will and won't give and take on.  Focus was slowly shifted and eventually I let go of that search.  I put my life and heart in God's hands - I let go - and ironically enough....THAT is when God stepped in.

I met a man that filled the bill.  He checked every box on the list.  And then, the more I got to know him, I realized he checked even more than I had on my list.  He checked more than I ever dreamed or ever thought I would want or ever find!!  And over time, I learned more about myself because of him.  He brought out things in me that I had buried, that I had forgotten and things that I had put on back burners because they just weren't important to me anymore.

He truly made me a better me.... but even more importantly, he gave me hope.  He gave me faith.  He made me strong again and he made me believe in life and love and ME again.  Not that I ever gave up on these things, but I think I had given up on them happening to me...

These things no one can ever take away from me again.

NO matter what happens to that man that walked into my life, whether he plays a role in my future, or whether he moves on to bigger and better things....
my life will forever be changed.  I have given and I have received.

So - sometimes, when I lay my head down and let myself be engulfed with where I am and how this all happened, I just can't breathe.  It's amazing.  The entire story... the story of where he has been, the story of where I have been and the most amazing thing is this:  how my life and his life ran almost parallel to each other in different worlds and eventually brought us together...when God was ready... when God knew WE were ready and probably at a time when He knew we NEEDED each other the most... 

Through each relationship in my past, through each mistake, each wrong turn, each heartbreak, each lesson learned, it brought me closer to a man that proved my expectations are NOT too high...  he proved to me that you can love and be loved.  It may not always be in the time or the capacity that you expect it to be, but love is real and it is all around us.......and it's a gift.

Sometimes, we get to keep that gift.  And sometimes, it is only yours for a short time and then you must give it away to someone or something else.....

I thank GOD that I have never settled for less than what he has in store for me  :)

So as I think back on some of those great love stories and the GREAT lines from those movies... I realize - each story is different.  Each is unique.  How they get to each other is special and you can never COPY someone else's fairy tale... you have your own...God is writing MY love story right now!  (and boy is it ever a novel! ha) 

When Harry Met Sally (1989)
 “I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich...I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes.”

A Walk to Remember (2002)
 “Maybe God has a bigger plan for me than I had for myself. Like this journey never ends. Like you were sent to me because I'm sick. To help me through all this. You're my angel.”

The Wedding Date (2004)
Close your eyes. Close your eyes. Close... your... eyes. You're safe. You can relax. I'm not going to kiss you. He's gonna be so sorry he lost you, so stop worrying. Forget the past. Forget the pain. And remember what an incredible woman you are.”

Catch and Release (2006)
“I left out the complicated stuff, like how it took losing you forever for me to truly find you. I told them I loved you and that's the truth.”

Notting Hill (1999)
“I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”

Love Actually (2003)
[in English] “It's my favorite time of day, driving you.”
[In Portuguese] “It's the saddest part of my day, leaving you.”
[Neither understands the other's language]

Pretty Woman (1990)
“So what happens after he climbs up and rescues her?
“She rescues him right back.”

The Notebook (2004)
“Yes... it wasn't over, it still isn't over.”

Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)
"Helen, if I'm away from you for more than an hour, I can't stop thinking about you. I carry you in my spirit. I pray for you more than I pray for myself. I've got it so bad for you I'd... I'd go to the grocery store and buy your feminine products, I swear I would. "
AND
my ALL time FAVORITE (this movie has the BEST quotes!)
"I know you don't believe in fairy tales. But, if you did, I'd want to be your knight in shining armor. You've been through so much. I don't want to see you hurt anymore. Now I may not be able to give you all that your used to. But I do know I can love you past your pain. I don't want you to worry about anything. You just wake up in the morning, that's all you have to do and I'll take it from there. There's one condition. You have to be my wife. "



I read a blog today that I found from a quote put on someone's facebook.
The story is of a man who visits his wife in a nursing/retirement home every day.  The wife has Alzheimers and doesn't even remember who the man is.  When the man is questioned as to why he would still go since she doesn't know he's there anyway.... his reply is.... "I still know who she is."
Neverending, unconditional love.
True Love.
WOW!  Do you love like that?!

The quote from the story is this:

 "True love is neither physical, nor romantic. 
True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be"

I consider myself blessed because no matter what happens in the rest of my life, I can say I KNOW what true love feels like.  I know how to GIVE and I know how to RECEIVE.  And no matter what capacity the gift was exchanged... it is something that will leave footprints in my heart that can never be taken away....not just one....but LOTS! 

1 comment:

Deidra Faith said...

Absolutely beautiful...