Love only grows with commitment

It is the wee hours of the morning after Dustin and Michelle’s wonderful wedding. We are so happy with and for them. I guess one of the early signs of Empty Nesters syndrome (which I have been suffering with for hours now) is reflection. Retracing God’s steps in their lives reveals His wisdom and love. I remember first meeting Michelle. They started dating while Dee and I were on our lifetime dream trip to see the fall colors on the east coast. We had heard of her appearance through the family grapevine and knew who she was as a child, but not as a woman. We wondered, would this be God’s choice for Dustin? We quickly fell in love with Michelle and early on I literally threatened Dustin with “you will never find her equal for you so don’t blow it!” It was fun watching their love progress to the full expression we all witnessed a few hours ago. They don’t realize it yet, they couldn’t…but this is just the beginning of learning to love. I know. I thought I knew what love was 40 years ago when Dee and I approached our wedding. It is so much more than I ever could have imagined. I have seen something in the eyes of my elders that are years ahead of me that tells me I have a great deal more to discover about love, it never stops growing. I am delighted that Dustin took the step to marry Michelle now because I know this: LOVE CANNOT EXIST OUTSIDE OF A PERSONAL COMMITMENT. That was the point of the ceremony. They made a public declaration and commitment to each other. That commitment will grow as they grow, this is just the first step. They will experience a depth of love that others without this commitment will never know. Maybe this is why Scriptures pictures our relationship with Christ as a bride / groom relationship. There is only one condition for experiencing the love of God and that is a personal commitment to the savior. Have you made that personal commitment yet? That is why I am up in the middle of the night. Jesus wanted to talk and it was wonderful and very real.