Thursday, February 11, 2010

Love Stories - My Inspiration

With Valentine's Day just a couple days away, I figured I would take time this week to share some stories of love. I don't know many people who are in loving relationships but the ones I do know, I'd love to share their story with you all. I get so tired of hearing and even writing about the negative side of love and relationships that I definitely think these stories will provide a breath of fresh air.

The first tale of love is from my parents. They are truly my inspiration. Enjoy!

My mother and father have been married for what will be 35 years this November. My mother was born in Alabama, and my father in Cleveland, but as fate would have it they would wind up becoming next door neighbors. There is a pretty significant age gap between them, but having been around them for the past 25 years, I think this is what helped their relationship survive in the first place. When they married, my dad had just completed grad school and landed his first real job while my mother was just beginning college. Having a clear idea that being with my father was what she wanted, she chose to leave school and move away from everything she knew to be with him. And that is where their life together began. Thirty-five years, three kids, and one granddaughter later, their love continues on.

I spoke to my dad tonight and asked him what it was that helped him to realize that my mother was the one for him. After all these years, I have never once asked my dad how he felt about my mother and their relationship. He unlike my mother, is not the openly emotional type so I wasn't sure of what type of response I would get. When I asked him what it was that drew him to my mom, his response was, her independent mind. She wasn't afraid to be her own person and voice her opinion. And not only did she have an opinion but it was an educated one; and since my dad was older and more mature this was important to him. He also told me that many of the other women he was surrounded by were too busy trying to dumb themselves down just for the sake of catching a man and that wasn't what he was after- granted this may have appealed to some men, but it obviously was not enough for my father.

Hearing my father's response made me think back to the heated debates I would witness my parents get into from time to time. They wouldn't be going back and forth with petty arguments about who left the toilet seat up or why she wouldn't stop nagging him; but instead about topics surrounding politics and worldly affairs. Eventhough the discussions could get heated, we all knew they were harmless. Their debates were more like embers to keep the flame burning than cracks within their foundation.

If nothing else I have learned from my parents that love is about taking chances, especially when you know that the person you love is worth the risk. It is also about realizing that relationships take work and patience. There are going to be times where my man may get on my nerves because we disagree on something, but at the end of the day I should still be able to say that I love him. And if I can't say that, then he isn't the one for me.

I'm not one to throw out Bible verses like I attend church on a regular basis, but thinking about my parents' love story made me think of this one:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
- 1Corinthians 13:4-8

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