Earthy and gritty stuff matters
They say that good marriages are made in heaven. That may be so but all the work to make them prosper is done here on earth. And love, as well as being all about flowers and candlelight and roses, also has to have an earthy, down to earth side or it will come to nothing.
Not just
Love is not just sharing the candlelit dinners but sharing in washing up the dirty dishes afterwards.
Not just sitting together in a beautiful flower filled backyard garden but taking responsibility for keeping those flower beds weed free together.
Not just time spent in dream tropical beach resorts but also time spent on crowded suburban commuter trains.
Not just looking together through tired eyes at an angelic sleeping newborn baby in its crib but dealing with a two year old smearing jelly over the kitchen wall.
Dealing with reality
The heavenly bits are wonderful but unless we deal with the earthy gritty bits too then the dreams will fade as it is tarnished by too much reality.
Strength of Love
Dream dreams and keep romance alive, but don't lose sight of the reality that is often painful, messy and uncomfortable. Love is the deep resource for dealing with life when it gets painful, messy or uncomfortable. The good times give us the reserves we need to meet the challenging times that we all meet in life. Love is deep and strong, growing in the beautiful moments and tested in the pain and is far, far more than the slushy sentimental love that some Valentine's cards portray with hearts and roses. This is the love that can meet all the challenges the world throws at it without falling apart.
