Love is More than Having Fun

Last Friday I received a gift from my boyfriend. It was a gift that I had known about for a while now (he told me before I found it), but I have since then been waiting for when he’d be ready to give it to me. I had given him the same kind of gift on Valentine’s day, and he admitted that he was working on the same thing, but he had started it before me.

The gift was very simple: a jar filled with reasons why we loved each other. I gave him the reasons why I love him on Valentine’s Day, and last week he gave me his reasons for loving me.

I’m a very sensitive and emotional person especially with relationships, so you can bet that I was sobbing while I was reading them in my room and processing it with my boyfriend over text. There were things that he’d said about me that I had never even thought that I had that kind of effect on him. It was such an honor and blessing to know that I was able to influence him in such a way.

The night before, we had gotten into a pretty bad fight after worship practice at church. He had to take me home, and it was to a point to where he wouldn’t even flinch when I talked to him. But don’t worry, we talked about it the next day. As much as I hate sleeping on a fight, I’ve come to realize (although may not have completely accepted) that sometimes it is necessary. Part of it may also be due to the fact that we don’t live together so it’s easier to do that rather than if we did.

As I am processing reading through all the notes that I just read about why my boyfriend feels the way I do about me, I go on Facebook, and my friend had just posted a status about a Bible verse. The reference? The ever-famous 1 Corinthians 13, also known as the Love Chapter. The whole chapter wasn’t quoted, but the part that I was reminded of was from verse 7: “[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (NASB).

Why did that verse stand out to me so much? It’s because it’s just another confirmation and reminder of what you need to do to have a relationship work out. Like what I said in a past post, it’s more than just the good times in a relationship or marriage. It’s about the bad times too. No one likes to have them, but every time you overcome an obstacle with that person you become stronger, especially as a couple.

So there’s a little peek into my relationship with Darell, once again. Lots of people only post about the good times, but hey, real relationships aren’t always good. Because of that (and many other things we’ve endured together), I’ve learned to take pride in my relationship and not to be afraid to talk about not-so-good times. I definitely hate them so much, but I realize every single time that there is a reason for it all.