Love is a decision.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Real love, right love can be all of those things when a person makes love a daily decision. It is not a matter of how you feel about someone on any given day. Love is looking beyond ourselves. We make the conscious decision whether to love our spouse, our child, our parent, our friend, our enemy every day.

Over the years I have learned how to navigate romantic relationships. I like to think that I am getting better and better all the time, but know that I have stumbled badly a time or two or three... I think some of the greatest lessons I have learned have come out of my failed marriage. Yes, my ex cheated and bailed, but it takes two to make a marriage and two to break one. I share equally in that responsibility.

Again the desire for a rewind button arises. If only I knew then what I have come to know now about myself and the ways that I let my husband down in our relationship. Things might have turned out differently. This November I will have been divorced six years, and there are still moments when another layer is peeled back on the experience and it almost feels fresh again. Am I healed from the heartache and pain? Yes. Am I still learning how to love each day? Yes. Will I ever head down the aisle again? God willing, yes. But next time there will be much less focus on me, much more on we, and the decision to love daily no matter what.

Will you make love a decision today?

My thanks for this topic goes out to Dr. F. - a man of great wisdom and insight.