Reaching Out of Ourselves

"We know ourselves best when we love, and so, as personalities, we have expectedour relationships - and usually a single relationship - to be a total experienceof love." - Daphne R. Kingma

My grandparents are now deceased, but I always admired their individualcharacteristics, as well as how they adjusted these same qualities to make theirmarriage more pleasant.

Grandpa was very interested in sports, especially football and baseball. Everyso often, he would travel to New York City to see the New York Yankees and,after a few days of fun and frolic with "the guys," Grandpa would return feelinglike a new man.

My grandfather was not a very talkative man, unless, of course, the topic wassports. His wife was quite the opposite! Grandma could talkfrom morning until night if need be, thus, she deeply valued the many socialgroups she belonged to, as well as her numerous friends.

What I admired about this couple was that both Grandma and Grandpa accepted eachother for who they were, rather than making each other feel guilty for who theywere not. Instead of looking at Grandpa's lack of talkativeness as a flaw whichcould have driven a huge wedge in their marriage, Grandma accepted her spouse asthe kind and loving man he was, knowing that his lack of constant conversationwas no true indication of the love they so obviously shared.

I have seen marriages crumble because, rather than compromise, husband and wifeseemed more concerned with power struggles and getting their own way. Thesolution of acceptance and compromise my grandparents applied so successfully totheir differences allowed an otherwise good marriage to be saved, rather than abandoned.

Love is indeed a very fulfilling emotion, but romantic relationships are not itsonly source. Love can also be found in friendship and in reaching out to others. Mother Theresa had no earthly husband, yet she stated repeatedly that she feltvery loved and content in her life, through reaching out in love to others andallowing their love to fill her.

There is another type of love that is so fulfilling and all encompassing thatits radiance has been known to melt even the coldest of hearts. It is the loveof God, our Father, and His son, Jesus Christ.

Won't you reach out to Him today?

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Contributed by Melanie Schurr (Copyright (c)2003 Melanie Schurr) Melanie Schurr is author of "Ecstatic Living Ecstatic Loving: How to have more peace and joy in marriage, and life in general by walking in harmony with God," and "Son Salutations: A refreshing collection of modern inspirations for those who seek God each day." For more information, visit her web page at www.angelfire.com/mi/melschurr