LEARNING TO LOVE
Regardless of how long I’ve known him, or how many years we’ve been together — my heart melts at the thought of calling him my beloved..
I believe this is our 8th year celebrating Valentine’s Day as a couple, we’ve been married for 6 years and dated for 2. Yet, every passing day, I still feel like I am learning to love him in a brand new way.
Choosing to love isn’t always easy. In fact, our natural tendency is to be proud and selfish…
However, learning to love – beyond just words – has been a fun journey. There are probably hundreds of learned habits that have helped our relationship be where it is today, and there are likely thousands of others we still need to learn.
Are you in love? Here are three ways to see if you too are learning to love…
- Love becomes a choice and a call to action. The thrill of a first kiss, butterflies in your stomach – these are all very raw and real emotions in the early stages of a relationship. But as time passes, these “googly” feelings start to fade and real day-to-day life settles in. It is then that love becomes a choice, moving beyond just a phrase you say. True love becomes something you act on – even when you don’t “feel” like it. You can’t promise the feeling will be there each day, but you can promise to choose and act with love.
- We comes before me. To love is to serve. In today’s culture, I realize the word itself can have a negative connotation, but it doesn’t have to. Serving the one you love means it is no longer just about you, but rather about us. By it’s very nature, love is a gift that puts into focus the unity of the relationship before the individual, placing the other person’s needs far above your own.
- Love is costly. That doesn’t mean spending money on dinners, gifts and flowers. Relationships reveal facts about our character and identity – these highlight the areas where we fall short. A deep rooted relationship uses the hardships and conflicts to create new unique bonds that mend future hurdles. Unfortunately, we can’t have it both ways: Being the captain of your domain while trying to fulfill the longings of love, it’s just not going to happen. A meaningful relationship demands 100% commitment, it allows an individual to lose their personal desires in favor of true unity with the one you love.
So, while you’re on this journey, enjoy the little things. Celebrate one another, choose your battles and never stop dating.
What have you learned about love and relationships? Feel free to chime in and let me know… May your Valentine’s Day be filled with joy, love and near to the ones you cherish.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
“Two parts of a loving whole
Two hearts and a single soul”
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FOREVER 21 sweater
ZARA skirt
ZARA shoes
necklace c/o ROCKSBOX
TJ MAXX shirt
GAP jeans
TOMS shoes
Images: Then-Gea Photography
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Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I loved it! I think the “WE” instead of the “ME” is what God has used to teach me how to trust “Him.” It is so unnatural for us to love and serve another person, giving that 100% commitment and yet He commands us to Love and Respect each other. I have absolutely seen my husband, Rudy, love me whether I respected him or not and it has given me a brand new respect for him that I didn’t know I could have for another human being. We are definitely on a journey and it is really fun to be on the other side of some of our difficulty. I’ve learned not to give up. Respect your husband anyway, and love God by loving and serving him. Thank you! PS – Your pics are adorable! Hugs to you and Miguel.
Great article! and you guys looks like people from a magazine, super cool photo shoot.
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