Although, I have only been married since March 30, 2012, my life has been a quest to discover true love. In the journey I, like countless others, have gotten totally lost and deceived many times. Today, I am found and I want to share part of what I have learned because what good is a life lesson if it only serves to better myself?
Love requires all who partake in it to lay aside selfishness, selfish ambition and fear to deliberately seek the betterment and upliftment of the beloved. It is an awesome feat with exponentially greater reward than any other lifelong undertaking.
True love is not washed away by the mood or mistakes of your partner (although, admittedly, cranky moods are less fun than their happy counter-part) because the place where love resides within the soul of the lover is deeper than superficial circumstances can reach. It is like a sea, where there is a storm raging on the surface, but the depths of the sea are unchanged.
Loving is a pleasure when you see it as a privilege. The beauty of a partner is not in their perfection, but in their complexity; their moods, emotions, highs and lows just serve to create a multidimensional soul. It is a rare blessing to be able to claim that you know another soul nearly as intimately as your very own.
Love is not simply about someone coming along and satisfying your needs for attention, affection and companionship, but it is about giving those things consistently despite extenuating circumstances.
The demonstration of love to your partner is about grace and forgiveness, it is about creating a safe place where both parties can come with all their wonder and all their mess and know that they will not be ridiculed, criticized maliciously, or made to feel like they are less than they are.
The challenge of understanding and demonstrating true love is nothing short of God’s greatest feat and most blessed opportunity for us to achieve. Scripture often repeats the importance of love, even to the extent of God calling Himself LOVE. God demonstrated it most vividly through the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son.
Love is monumentally HARD and God has set a precedent we are wise to follow in all of our relationships. This is manifested most poignantly in the marriage relationship, as it is the physical depiction of God’s deepest desire and ultimate purpose for humanity’s union to Him.
Love is real, but you have to be willing and able to give it with the same depth in which you desire to receive it.
-Carly Ann Tebbs
Here is a fun picture of Carly and her husband on their Wedding day!
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