What Love Is

I grew up in a home with a dad who was the picture of romance. He always brought my mom flowers, cards & special gifts. I assumed all men were romantic like that. My first Valentines Day while dating my husband proved otherwise. I was so excited that morning. "What would he have planned? Did he pick out the perfect card or flowers? I got to college that day and saw him across the hall. My heart leapt. I walked up to him, smiling coyly (which I don't think he noticed) but he just looked at me and said "hey babe" I did my best flirty gaze but still nothing. The bell rang and I had to go to class. I convinced myself that he was going to surprise me but each hour that passed made me realize he didn't even know it was Valentine's Day. Of course by the end of the day my demeanor changed drastically (he did notice that) and as I left to go home I pouted "you forgot it was Valentine's Day!!" Later he tried to make it up to me by bringing me a plant and poem but my heart was a little crushed (and a plant wasn't really my idea of romance) I thought the romance thing would get better but a few years into our marriage I saw that my sweet husband didn't have a romantic bone in his body. I let the sadness over this dictate my joy a little too often to admit. I learned a valuable lesson in the early years of marriage that I continue to work on 30 years later. If your joy is dependent on your husband or anyone for that matter, eventually there will be times the happiness of that relationship will be crushed or saddened, maybe over and over again, because joy, true joy, only comes from Jesus. If I depend wholly on my Savior to give me joy and happiness and not people or things, He will never fail me. That doesn't mean that I won't ever be hurt or disappointed by someone I love, we are only human, but if I start thinking about myself and my wants and looking to Mike alone to fulfill that, I can go downhill really fast. Ladies, don't look to your boyfriend, your fiancé or your husband for your happiness. Look only to Your Heavenly Father. Ask Him to fill you with so much love for the Savior that your heart is overflowing and needs nothing else. His love for us is indescribable. Nothing can compare, even the most romantic man in the world. This Valentine's Day give your whole heart to Jesus. Take time every day to read His love letter to you and feel His love surround you completely.
( And just for the record, my husband has the exact amount of romance God knew I needed. He is the most thoughtful and giving person I know and I truly believe that if I hadn't decided long ago to look to Jesus for joy I would have missed all the amazing ways God has shone me that my husband loves me so dearly.