The Love Dare - Day 17

Love is... walking the dog together!

When we were courting but separated by a couple of hundred miles, Karen used to send me a 'Love is..." cartoon everyday along with a letter.  She's always been a romantic!  (There is a rumor going around, in some circles, that I'm the romantic in our family, but come on now, does anybody really believe that?  I'll keep trying though!)  I still have those cartoons and the letters they came in.

Love is... being attracted by his magnetic personality!

My Love Dare project for today is to revive that memory and post a few reminders of those days in this blog.  The one above seems appropriate (see Love Dare - Day 6).  I also like the one on the left, but not because it, too, has a dog in it.  It's the thought of having a magnetic personality!  (I've always wondered what it would be like to have one of those!) Then again, the cartoon below is more realistic.  I already know what that feels like!

Love is... carefully combing over his bald spot!

But none of these really gets at the heart of true love - the kind that can last 35 years and still be anticipating more to come.  I guess it comes back to the idea expressed in 1 Corinthians 13:7, that "love... endures all things" (including time).  I like to think of genuine love as a God-given gift that sticks with us and holds all of life together as we give in to it and let it come out of us.  There is a mysterious power known as the 'strong nuclear force' which holds atoms together.  We all know it's there, but it can't be fully explained.  Maybe love is like that.  As we give ourselves to God, through faith in Jesus Christ, He fills us with a love which endures and holds all things together. 

Love is... a new dimension!

Now, I admit that I know very little about physics.  I probably don't know much about love either!  But I know this - there's nothing quite like love.  It adds a totally new dimension to life.  It may not solve all of our problems, but I'd rather live with it than without it, and I'd certainly rather experience love than understand it.  But for tonight, I just want to thank my bride for keeping love in my sight for these last 35 years (as of June 19)!  Hope these cartoons bring back some good memories.  And I hope I can return more love to you than you've given to me.  That will be tough to do, unless of course, I can come up with that magnetic personality!