Almost every chick-flick that I enjoy paints a wonderful, heartfelt, dreamy picture of relationships. It is usually boy meets girl; they face obstacles (both real and imagined), fall in love while overcoming the obstacles and live happily ever after. Ahhh, what a wonderful thing! The media gives us high hopes of reaching this euphoric state of eternal bliss. I am sure that you know couples like this. There is Will and Jada Smith, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Edward and Vivian (Pretty Woman) and of course, Wilma and Fred Flintstone! All of them with seemingly successful and happy relationships.
But then we change the channel from the chick flick to hear news stories about marriages that do not fit the usual happily ever after scenario. We have been inundated with stories of heartbreak, like John and Elizabeth Edwards and Mark and Jenny Sanford. With these high profile marriages under the microscope, I think it begs us to explore the age old question, “Is love enough to sustain a marriage or a relationship?” Love is such a wonderful and powerful emotion and we all want to have that special someone to love. We want that relationship that is wrapped up in love. The kind of love that celebrates Valentine’s Day everyday but yet the question remains, “Is love enough?” If I am “Dangerously in Love” will the marriage survive that rocky road that every marriage seems to have to travel?
This may seem like an easy question to answer but my sister, honestly, I go back and forth with the answer. My heart wants to believe that as in the Beatles classic “All You Need is Love”. My heart believes that love can overcome anything; that saying, “I love you” can change any situation. My heart believes that love is the almighty panacea that fixes any and everything. But there is another part of me (my mind) that sings with Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to do with It?” The “thinker” in me then concludes that you need respect, communication, a strong sense of self, trust and so much more in order to sustain a marriage. My head takes over and speaks to my heart and says you need similar core values, the ability to change, the ability to see greatness in the one you love and the ability to celebrate that greatness.
So, what’s a girl to do? What’s a girl to believe? Is love enough to sustain a marriage? Do I allow my heart to love dangerously or use the checklist in my mind to get that perfect marriage? Well, there has to be a healthy balance between the heart and the mind. All heart is not good but neither is all mind. Love is a wonderful feeling and sharing that love, that deep, passionate affection with someone is amazing. However, we cannot ignore elements like trust and respect, communication and commitment, similar core values and common interests. When all of the elements of love are woven together what a wonderful piece of tapestry is created, a once in a life-time experience and a beautiful piece of art.
How do you weave all of these elements together? There is only one way. You need the God who is love. There is no way to weave together the heart and the mind without God. God will guide you and speak to you if you only listen. Let God be the thread that weaves together your mind and your heart, leading to a magnificent marriage/relationship.
So, ladies, I want to hear from you on the subject, “Is Love Enough?”