That Kind of Love

Recently I was with another woman and we were watching a romance movie. At the end of the movie she was crying and said, “Don’t you wish you had that kind of love?”

My response was, “I do.” 

She was like, “Really?” 

I said, “Yeah.” 

I thought for a moment and then said, “What do you mean by, that kind of love?”

She responded with, “You know, someone who will love you know matter what, will always be there for you when you need them and won’t give up even when it seems like there is no hope.” 

I smiled and said, “Yeah, I have that kind of love. It doesn’t mean we don’t have struggles or sometimes have difficult days. It doesn’t mean we don’t have disagreements, but yeah, he loves me no matter what, is always there for me and won’t give up on us, no matter how difficult a day we may have.” 

I think what she was sensing from the movie was more than that though. I think it’s the romantic kind of love that women tend to make up in their own minds and exalt it to more than the reality of what is. Too often, women believe that with marriage comes express fulfillment and happiness every day with no relenting on the upbeat feeling that they consider to be love.

That however isn’t the reality of daily life. Life can have happiness but there are also days of stress, sorrow, anger and frustration. If women expect that in those times the husband will fully protect them from those feelings and shelter them from the storm, they’ve missed the point of marriage. 

You see, the husband equally experiences the difficult times along with his wife. He may emotionally feel differently than she does, but he still is experiencing the same event(s). He can’t shelter her from the experience but he can walk along beside her, and she alongside him. 

The point of love in marriage is to support each other through the experiences whether good or bad. The point is to hold each other in love regardless of the storms that may pass. The shelter is the love that binds you together. It is, he for her and she for him. Both are responsible. 

That is where abiding joy resides, it’s that kind of love that most are hoping for but many miss because they can’t get past their own self desires to see the love contained within the circle of each other. 

I am blessed to have that kind of love. He loves me, no matter what. He loves me, and is always there for me. He loves me and won’t give up on our love. Equally, he has that kind of love too. Because I love him, no matter what. I love him and will always be there for him, and I love him and won’t give up on our love. 

How about you? Do you see marriage as an abiding joy where love is contained within the circle of each other? Do you have that kind of love?