Wednesday, February 2, 2022

February 2--Up to the Challenge?

For one human being to love another--that is perhaps the most difficult of our tasks; the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.  --Rainer Maria Rilke

    If you live long enough, you learn a lot about love. In a rather quick overlook on my life, I note these things:
  • My mother so loved her mother that when Grammie Wilson died suddenly of a heart attack (when I was 4 years old), my mother's world was wrecked. 
  • I have no idea whether my parents loved each other anymore after that death. (I am assuming they were in love early on.) My dad drank more and more, built an "office" out in the garage where he could drink in peace, and there was either lots of fighting or vicious silence. My mom had no means of supporting herself, so she was stuck. 
  • I watched my sisters-in-law raise seven children, with one brother in the military and the other who worked during the day and spent the rest of his time lying on the couch watching TV. I believe both pairs loved each other. 
  • My husband and I had a long-distance romance for a couple of years before we both landed in Wichita and were married. We had email because we worked for the same company. But the long-distance phone bills were outrageous!
  • It was a love like no other when I first held my older son. I could never have imagined the power or depth of "mother love."
  • I thought I could not possibly love another child as much as I did the first, but that proved to be a silly thought. The love simply expanded, once again beyond my imagining. 
  • Raising two sons brought "tough love" into the picture in a big way. 
  • The love between my husband and me has matured over our nearly 36 years of marriage. We are comfortable, we enjoy each other's company, and we are independent enough to pursue those things that interest us. 
  • Our older son recently married and is going to be a dad. It is a whole 'nother experience to see one's kids in love enough to make such commitments. 
  • Lastly there is the fellowship love I have discussed in the previous two posts. Without it, none of the other love in my life would have happened. 
Love. Easy? No. Worth the effort? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
        Leta



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