I was recently told by a close source that she wouldn't take me for the cheesy romantic type. Let me lay that completely inaccurate perception to rest by including a clip from a movie I watched this weekend, Sydney White, which caused instant swoonage. In case you need a visual of how this particular clip affected me, Free Dictionary.Com defines swoon:
To faint. 2. To be overwhelmed by ecstatic joy. 1. A fainting spell; syncope. See Synonyms at blackout. 2. A state of ecstasy or rapture. That's about how it went down. |
Guys have complained to me how difficult dating is and how girls are so complicated and getting married is impossible. Matt Long's character on this show has found the secret to getting the girl. And now I have unveiled it to the world.
But don't think it ends there. Along with the random serenades, flowers and surprises, there's the undeniable truthfulness to the following quote by Gordon B. Hickley, 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion.” I recently had dinner with a dear friend since middle school, who told me a story about her husband that demonstrates President Hinckley's statement perfectly.
My friend and her husband enjoy road biking and were doing a century race in which her husband had been excited to see how well he could perform. It was a tough race and my friend had gotten pretty far behind and was frustrated and exhausted. Her husband called her cell about halfway through to see where she was and she broke into tears when she said how far back she still was and how tired. He turned around and rode the rest of the race with her. Despite wanting to achieve a good racing time and compete, his love for his wife exceeded his personal desires and ambitions. My friend said she doesn't think she could have finished without him riding along side her. I've been reflecting on this incident ever since. Perhaps this act of selflessness and love resonates with me so much because I also enjoy competing in races yet would not be inclined to wait for anyone. That's true love right there and concern for the companion's well-being. It makes me look forward to the day when I love someone that much.
Another example of selflessness is my grandma, Naomi Jewell. My parents recently took her to a group home after altruistically caring for her in their home for four years. It was quite the job and they responded to the responsibility as admirably as I imagine anyone ever has. Just a little background on my grandma, she was a homemaker who served her family and anyone else who would let her until she was no longer mentally capable to serve, which is when she was moved in with my parents. After decades of giving humble service, she has been receiving it these last four years. Even in this state of dementia, she is the most gracious, sweet, adorable person you've ever had the privilege of knowing. And she loves sweets, which is undoubtedly one of the reasons we get along so well.
My grandma's level of comprehension depends on the day. It was her 90th birthday this week and my parents and I brought her cake and visited her at this home. She was rather lucid, yet the day before was pretty out of it. For this reason, my dad told her, "You're like a box of chocolates, we never know what we're going to get." Bless her little heart when she responded with all the sincerity and innocence of a child, "Did somebody say chocolate?"I love that woman just as she has loved me all my life. Even now when she doesn't recognize me, doesn't know my name or my relationship to her, she will hold my hand and thank me for my kisses and for helping her to bed. When I tell her I love her, she tells me she loves me too and I can tell she means it. This is charity--her loving me without expectation, obligation or encouragement but just accepting that unrecognized love I feel for her because it's my gift, regardless of who I am, where I've been, what I've done. It reminds me of the love of children--trusting, impartial, wholehearted. It is part of what makes up the love that God has for each of us.
In his book, Standing for Something: Ten Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes, President Hinckley, said: “Love is the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is not found only at the end of the rainbow. Love is at the beginning also, and from it springs the beauty that arched across the sky on a stormy day. Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. How rich are those who enjoy it in their associations with family, friends, and neighbors! Love, like faith, is a gift of God. It is also the most enduring and most powerful virtue.”
May we love more deeply, purely and freely. Like a spouse, a caregiver, a child, a senior citizen. Like Heavenly Father who created us and loves us more than we could ever comprehend.
