As she runs to her friend, excitement beams from her eyes. She stops, gasping for her breath, and holds a single dandelion under her chin.
“Well?” she asks.
“I see a hint of yellow!” the friend replies. “I knew it! Someone loves you!”
Yeah-those were the days, when the yellow tint of a dandelion reflecting under your chin meant somebody loved you. The same days where you spent hours on end plucking out flower petals with hopeless exasperation, saying: “He loves me not “He loves me!”
Gone are the days of dandelion love. Flower plucking days are now few and far between, and instead of asking if he “He loves me?” the question turns to “Does he love me still?”
It seems that over time our love for each other can flicker like a flame, glowing steadily, but faltering all the same. If the wind blows, how do we keep the flame from blowing out?
The reality is that love is a choice. Granted we cannot determine who takes our breath away, but the fact remains that as relationships age that love can often seem to grow “stale.” Just as in a garden, relationships need nurturing and cultivation.
As Cupid’s arrows sling your way, remember that relationships take work. It’s much easier to dissolve a relationship when things get tough than it is to work through trials.
If that relationship is worth fighting for, then put on your armor and prepare for battles. They are bound to come. Relationships in every level of development take hard work and commitment.
How do we face these battles when we struggle only to find the walls crumbling down? We persevere. When we rebuild that fortress, it’ll stand more securely than before.
Joy, sadness, anger and jealousy are some emotions that seem to stifle feelings love. They change as the wind blows. But true love, my friends, is constant.
Sometimes we don’t feel like we love our parents or our siblings-but we do anyway. Other emotions-frustration or resentment-can cast shadows which blind us from truth.
Joy dwindles. Anger diminishes. Sadness fades away. Love perseveres.
If you base your relationship on friendship before affection, will that not cultivate more respect? If on service, will that not increase your joy? If on honesty, will that not generate confidence?
Every aspect of relationships builds or tears down. It is our responsibility to encourage one another-in doing so, we also gain confidence ourselves.
If you make a commitment to a life-long relationship, go into it bearing that commitment with full authority. If you marry and eliminate the option of divorce, will you not work all the harder to make that relationship strong?
It takes lots of building, but such a love will last a lifetime. Give me a love that is pure, a love that is unconditional, a love that knows no bounds.
I’m lucky-I think I’ve got some yellow under my chin. Guess those dandelion days aren’t over after all.