Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?

Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?

Bryan Adams

          What is the feeling of being in love? How does a man differ from woman when it comes to loving? How far would you go for love? These are just some of the FAQ’s of love.  As human beings, we are born to love and be loved. It is a great gift from God that separates us from all of His other creations. We have the ability to love; while obviously dogs, cats, or even the said to be closest to us humans, the monkeys, can’t do such thing.  It is also one of the most precious treasures that we have; for without it, we would be living a lonely and boring life just like Toy Story’s Lotso.

Falling in love was God’s idea. He was the one who made us capable of experiencing romantic feelings… Why did He do it? For the same reason that He made sunsets and mountain ranges and fireflies! Because He’s good. Because He wants to give us a million different opportunities to see just how wonderful He is. – Boy Meets Girl (Say Hello to Courtship)

The mentioned book was written, as said by the author, to celebrate God’s way in romance. I think it’s a good book. It can be helpful for those who are single, seeing someone, or in a serious relationship. Actually I haven’t read the book yet; I just browsed through it and saw this beautiful line. But I promise to read it once I’ve finished reading all of the Guideposts booklets. This is why when Jesus was asked to name the greatest commandment; He gave two – to love God and to love others. They cannot be separated. When we serve others, we’re serving our Lord (Matthew 25:40). This is how important loving is to God. Learning to love others is the second purpose of our lives.

I’ve felt love several times already. Since childhood, there was never a time that I felt loveless in my life. With a family like mine, who wouldn't? However, there came a point in my life that I began searching for a different kind of love, a love that is unique and rare. It is like what Adam has for Eve, what Popeye has for Olive, what Mickey has for Minnie. For how many years I’ve experienced and learned so many things from relationships. Though not even one ended up in a happy ending, I will still treasure each and every memory built from them.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. – 1 Corinthians 13:4

          Actually, I have a shirt that has this verse printed on it. I never thought that it was a Bible verse, but I really love the shirt, plus it has a sentimental value to me of some sort. This verse is in contrary to what my friend, Uno, has told me that, “Matutunan mo lang mahalin ang sarili mo kapag natuto ka nang manumbat.” Although he has a point, because for some reasons we tend to give everything to the one we love, to the point that we have been taking ourselves for granted already; thus, having a failure relationship in the end. However, love is not about measuring; it is not about comparing what you give from what you receive. Rather, I believe it is the feeling of accomplishment to yourself wherein you can truly say that you had loved whole heartedly and unconditionally. It is about giving. You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving (Purpose Driven Life). I will always choose to love rather than be loved, for loving someone makes me remember that I was made in God’s image.

I become all things to all people, whatever it takes to win them. - Paul

My friend, Davic, once told me, “Palagi mong iisipin, palaging tama ang babae.” At first, I was like “Hell NO! I didn’t plan to have a dominant partner in the future!” But then I found out the secret of his message: Understanding and Respect. It really takes a lot of these two for you to have a peaceful and harmonious relationship. We are egotistic in nature; since birth, we always have been selfish. In addition, we are different from each other. Even twins are not with the same personalities. So it all boils down to respecting and understanding each other. Just what Joyce Meyer said, “We need to spend a lot more time to understand and know the people that we have a relationship with.”

Any relationship involves times of closeness and times of distance. – Philip Yancey

I believe the greatest gift that you can give to your partner is time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you’ll never get back (Purpose Driven Life). Whenever you give your time, you are making a sacrifice, and sacrifice is the essence of love. Building a relationship takes time, and lots of patience. It is like having an investment. There will come a time that both of you will be tested, but do not falter, for it is only God’s way of teaching you to blend with each other and work things out. It is even said that it takes the brain 4 days to start building a new wave of behaving, and another 21 days to establish a pattern of that new behavior (Communication Complex Part 2: Joyce Meyer).

Just like what Rick Warren says, “The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.” Do not waste your time. Love as if it is your last day with him/her. You have no guarantee of tomorrow, so I suggest that you grab every opportunity you have with him/her and make the most out of it. I always asked God to provide the right person for me (with specifications and statistics). Probably that’s the reason why almost all of my relationships were epic fail. All of them were great, but it was me that’s lacking. Now I learned from what Pastor Rommel had shared to us. That I shouldn’t be asking God for the perfect one; instead, I should be asking Him to have me prepared until the right one comes along. Romance will never be an accident, but a destiny in the making.

Testimony: God taught me how to love.

Life Lesson: Love is like an investment.

Godly Passion: Love is never proud.

Good News: Love.