1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Love is not chocolates. Love is not flowers. Love is not dining at the fanciest restaurant. Love is not a Vermont Teddy Bear sent to the office so that your spouse's co-workers can admire you. Love is not a Hallmark card.
Love is making dinner when its not your turn. Love is taking out the trash every night, even in the rain. Love is climbing under the house to see if the kittens have been born. Love is staying home to take care of sick kids. Love is holding each other's hands when the doctor tells you the bad news. Love is swallowing the words you meant to say in anger.
Love is not Valentine's Day.
Love is every day.
3 comments:
Let me tell you after 20 something years of marriage, all of the above is true, but don't forget the chocolotes and the flowers.
Chocolates and flowers are preventative medicine in marriage - forget them at your own peril.
Let me go on record to say that Valentine's Day is officially a joke, because it's now simply a time for retailers to charge ridiculous sums of money for cards, chocolate and flowers. It's become a freakin' Hallmark holiday and too many freakin' people are buying into it.
If your relationship suffers because you forget this day, then the relationship isn't that strong to begin with.
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