It was 13 years ago. He had finally won me over, and I had no idea that I had just agreed to start dating my husband. Not a week later, we celebrated our first Valentine’s Day and if you haven’t heard that story, let’s just say I was completely delighted at how sweet and romantic this new boyfriend of mine was.
Fast forward a couple of years. We were newlyweds when the reality that marriage wasn’t always a fairy tale hit. Not to mention, we weren’t always effective at communicating our love for one another in a way that had seemed to happen naturally and with little effort while we were getting to know each other. I knew he loved me. I just wasn’t feeling it in the same way as I had, all of the time. It was a difficult conversation explaining to my new husband that there were times I didn’t feel loved. He was hurt and confused that his efforts had seemed futile, and it was especially difficult to help him understand when I didn’t fully grasp why I felt this way myself.
Through that discussion we recalled having been given a book for our wedding which addressed the very complication we were facing. That book had been placed on a shelf for “someday” when we had time to read it. And suddenly we were aware of the importance of making time to learn about and work on our relationship. The 5 Love Languages has taught us the value in intentionally speaking each others’ love language every day, and has been one of the many resources we’ve found to be extremely beneficial to our marriage.
With Valentine’s Day this week, the world is on it’s way to becoming a sappy, love-struck puddle of goo. And we’ll be right there with the rest of you. We love having a reason to celebrate anything together. We love love. So a day that joins those two forces together? Of course we love it! Sharing your life with someone and being in love is wonderful. It should be celebrated. It wouldn’t be right, though, to show those we love how much we care for just one day. That should be something we strive for every day of the year. Because actually feeling that commitment and love… it’s one of the most incredible things I can think of.
*** Giveaway alert! ***
Because The 5 Love Languages has meant so much to us, we are thrilled to offer a copy to one of you as well! Just leave us a comment below and share this article with your friends. (Tell us if you know you or your spouse’s love language(s), your Valentine’s Day plans, or anything else lovely that comes to mind.) We’ll be randomly selecting one comment on Thursday.
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*** Thanks for the comments, Ladies! We always enjoy hearing from you. Congratulations to Megan D.! We will be in touch to get you your copy of The 5 Love Languages.
