Yes ladies and gentlemen, it's true...I am finally "in love"! I'm not exactly certain how it happened, I just know that I was sitting there wondering what was going to become of me the way I was heading. I was so busy working the night shift, going to church when I was off, taxi-ing around my teenage daughters when they were home for the weekend and giving "big sister" advice to my little sister and her boyfriend (who I've adopted as my little brother!)
You know how they say you'll find it when you least expect it. I don't know who "they" are, but "they" are right. I'd given up on ever finding true love. I mean I'd seen enough romance movies, heard enough fairy tales and read enough romance stories to write my own. (Oh yeah, which I am STILL in the process of doing BTW, LOL!) You know, the gallant white knight who rides in, sweeps the damsel in distress off her feet and they ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after. Or maybe the "When I first met him, he was a jerk, but now we're getting married" type. Or what about that "I hate Clark Kent, but I'm in love with Superman" type? (I always wondered how a pair of glasses could deceive her?) LOL!
Anyhow, I thought I had it all figured out what this love thing was supposed to be. Magic, pixie dust, stars, fireworks, that mushy gooey feeling that says "I've found my soulmate". After all that's how it works, right? Hollywood has seen to indoctrinating us with that ideal.
Or maybe it was really the church's way of thinking, "God will send the right person to you at the right time. He will give a divine signal that this is the one for you. oh yeah, and there's only one for you, divorce is a sin, you know." Besides if God tells you to marry this certain person, then you can blame Him saying the same thing Adam said ,"Lord it was the woman YOU sent me" Blame God, He set you up. No, He doesn't change His mind. And if He doesn't force us to be saved, why would he force us to fall in love with a certain person?. He leads us, no doubt, and "highly suggests" sometimes, but He's a gentleman and He never forces.
So there I was, wondering what it would be like, yet ackowledging it was never going to happen to me.
But then I started to get the image of the perfect match for me: someone who loves God as much as they possibly can and has made a decision to follow him for the rest of their life, no matter what the cost. Someone who loves slow music, quiet candlelight dinners, curling up with a good book any day of the week. Someone who believes having family is as important as spending "family time" together. Someone who finds refreshing in the solitude of the country with beauty surrounding them: the water, the leafy fall trees, the crisp wind, the sounds of nature. Someone who loves people but doesn't mind being alone from time to time. Someone not afraid to cry or laugh or yell depending on what emotions are going on at the time. Someone that can hear my heart's silent cries and give me exactly what I need right when I need it.
Wow, could a person like this really exist? I stopped for a minute and began to wonder if I was setting the standard too high. But then...it happened...all of a sudden, without warning...I realized I already knew just the person. How could I have missed it? How could I have been so blind? Why did I stay in denial when the love was right there with me all the time?
Oh well, no use beating myself up for my deftness, it was time to take action. I got up, straightened my shirt, brushed back my hair and walked over to the one I knew I loved, but had never taken the time to tell. I stood with shoulders back, face on, cleared my throat and leaned closer to the smiling face and beautiful shining eyes. I said, "You know what? I really do love you. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."
And you know what happened?
My reflection smiled back at me from the mirror and said, "That's okay, I knew you'd figure it out one day!"
"And the second [command] is like it to love your neighbor as YOURSELF!" Matthew 22:39
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