True Love

I woke up in a dreamy haze this morning. I was back in high school and I just wanted some guy to like me. Couldn't he just kiss me and hold me? I yearned for him to love me.

In high school, I wondered if anyone truly loved me. I thought that if I had a boyfriend then that would prove that someone loved me. I knew in my brain that having a boyfriend that young would only complicate my life. I was ill-prepared (and so would any teenage boy be) to handle a relationship.

In all my yearning, I overlooked those who did love me. My parents and my siblings loved me. My Heavenly Father loved me more than any mortal could. My friends loved me, including my guy friends. Other adults and adolescents loved me in my community. I was loved. And I needed to love myself. I forgot that I needed to show others the same love sometimes.

When I did find my true love, my husband, I was old enough to handle a relationship and marriage. (I'm not sure we're ever mature enough to handle relationships.) I know now that true love takes a lot of work. Love involves sacrifice, forgiveness, maintaining a household and so much more. It's more than someone hugging and kissing me--though that is nice sometimes.

Ultimately, true love stems from God. He has taught us how to love and to accept love graciously. We need to open our arms to him in order to feel his love more fully.