Embracing Love

November 21st is the opening of a new chapter in my life. Someone very wonderful and special has come into my life and we plan to be married on that date.

We first began seeing each other in August of 1997, and quickly became good friends. We went to concerts together, movies, dancing, and in general, we just began to enjoy being companions on the road of life together.

I've come to the conclusion that healthy love is maintaining a close friendship, giving and receiving mutual respect, granting each other the little common courtesies, giving and receiving compliments and encouragement, and taking time out together just to relax and have fun.

While that definition sounds easy, it's actually easier to let these things slip. It requires discipline to keep doing the right things over the long term. And because I love and respect my new wife-to-be, I'm committed to embracing this definition of love and keeping my love for her fresh and alive in our relationship. The things I mention above are the glue of our relationship. We both recognize that if we start to ignore these fundamentals aspects of love, then our relationship will likewise begin falling apart.

Both of us have been through a previous divorce. Both of us know what we want and what we don't want. Both of us have a keen sense of how healthy relationships work. Both of us want this marriage to last 'til death do us part.

Seeking and finding companionship and friendship is normal and healthy. It's part of what helps a person grow emotionally, spiritually, and socially. My time of healing and being on my own is over. It's time for me to move on and let go of the failures of the past. It's time for me to take my lessons learned and apply them to the wonderful new relationship that has come into my life. I embrace and accept the love that life has brought me.

Thank you, God for healthy relationships. Thank you for healthy love and showing me that love can be a wonderful, fulfilling experience. Help me to be the right person and to do the right things that will keep this love vibrant, refreshing, and new. Amen.

next: Recovery, Love and My Marriage