Recently, I saw a debate on facebook about whether true love is reality or not. Do Fairy tales and Disney movies exist to show us that true love is real, or to show us how foolish the notion is?
I frequently tell my Mom that true love does not exist. This usually happens when I have an experience where love hurts, or a thought that reminds me that love isn't always easy. But that is certainly not true. True love does exist, and as Christians, we should know this better than anyone. After all, we were recipients of the truest love that ever existed.
But does true romantic love, or true love for another person, exist? I would definitely say yes. And it is beautiful.
True love does not mean you will have a perfect life. My parents are the couple I've seen that demonstrates true love the best. And because they're humans, they're not perfect. They argue, they get mad at each other, but at the end of the day, they are madly in love, and that is what matters.
And that is what true love is. It's when you aren't going to throw away a relationship just because you've been hurt. It's when you are willing to make the other person happy, before you make yourself happy. It's even little things; thoughtful things like going somewhere you don't want to go, because it will make him happy; reading a book you don't care about, because it is special to her, and she wants you to understand why. It's ignoring what you selfishly want, and doing something selfless instead.
True love takes work, and it is not perfect. Even if you look at Disney movies, things aren't perfect. Eric leaves Ariel for another woman just because she has a nice voice; the Beast struggles with temper issues, and then he's killed; the Prince forgets what Cinderella looks like, and has to put a shoe on every woman in the kingdom in order to find her. But when all is said and done, true love wins out over any obstacles that are set in its way.
Now, I know that fairy tales aren't real. You aren't going to marry a mermaid, or a man that was transformed into a beast. But that does not mean that the love is fake. One of the biggest things about fairy tales is that the characters don't give up just because things are rough. So often, when people "fall out of love", it is because they are not willing to make an effort. They become selfish, and making the object of their love happy stops being something that brings them joy. When I love someone, making them happy brings joy to me too. I can spend an entire day doing something I really couldn't care less about, but if it's something that brings a smile to that person's face, I enjoy it. And that is true love.
I frequently tell my Mom that true love does not exist. This usually happens when I have an experience where love hurts, or a thought that reminds me that love isn't always easy. But that is certainly not true. True love does exist, and as Christians, we should know this better than anyone. After all, we were recipients of the truest love that ever existed.
But does true romantic love, or true love for another person, exist? I would definitely say yes. And it is beautiful.
True love does not mean you will have a perfect life. My parents are the couple I've seen that demonstrates true love the best. And because they're humans, they're not perfect. They argue, they get mad at each other, but at the end of the day, they are madly in love, and that is what matters.
And that is what true love is. It's when you aren't going to throw away a relationship just because you've been hurt. It's when you are willing to make the other person happy, before you make yourself happy. It's even little things; thoughtful things like going somewhere you don't want to go, because it will make him happy; reading a book you don't care about, because it is special to her, and she wants you to understand why. It's ignoring what you selfishly want, and doing something selfless instead.
True love takes work, and it is not perfect. Even if you look at Disney movies, things aren't perfect. Eric leaves Ariel for another woman just because she has a nice voice; the Beast struggles with temper issues, and then he's killed; the Prince forgets what Cinderella looks like, and has to put a shoe on every woman in the kingdom in order to find her. But when all is said and done, true love wins out over any obstacles that are set in its way.
Now, I know that fairy tales aren't real. You aren't going to marry a mermaid, or a man that was transformed into a beast. But that does not mean that the love is fake. One of the biggest things about fairy tales is that the characters don't give up just because things are rough. So often, when people "fall out of love", it is because they are not willing to make an effort. They become selfish, and making the object of their love happy stops being something that brings them joy. When I love someone, making them happy brings joy to me too. I can spend an entire day doing something I really couldn't care less about, but if it's something that brings a smile to that person's face, I enjoy it. And that is true love.
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