Thursday, May 8, 2008

What is true love?

Have you ever experienced true love? Yesterday I visited my Aunt, it has been five weeks now since she lost her true love. I can't imagine losing my soul mate, spending 42 years of my life with them, only to lose them. The words, "it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all," comes to mind. As much as I know she hurts right now, if I were to ask her if she would do it all over again, she would most definitely say yes.
I have visited with her several times over the past five weeks. Her heart grieves so deeply, deeper than I can truly comprehend. She has had some really tough days, and I know she has more ahead of her. Saturday she received a phone call from someone who did not have knowledge of my Uncle's passing, she picked up the phone and was asked if Leon was there. I can imagine in her heart, for a brief second it probably felt so normal, picking up the phone and hearing someone ask to speak to Leon. But then, it all came crashing down on her as reality set in, she began to explain his death to the person on the other end of the phone. She spent the next few hours making phone calls, and trying to find someone to talk to. She just needed someone, anyone. Every number she dialed, it seemed no one was available, leaving her alone to think about everything she did not want to think about at that moment.
I went to visit her yesterday, we spent an hour talking to each other. She was able to spend the day with a friend and get out of the house. I was fixing to leave, and she told me to hold on a minute. I walked back to her bedroom with her, she had been going through some of his clothes and wanted me to take some of them to my dad. She had 2 shirts lying on the bed, and she picked them up and asked me to smell of them. She picked up one held it to her face and breathed in through her nose, she said this one still has the smell of his cologne. She picked up the next one and once again lifted it to her face before asking me to smell of the shirt. She said this one has been washed, but it still smells just like him. The shirts were lying on her bed because she sleeps with them at night. She wants to be able to smell him lying next to her while she sleeps.
As much as she hurts, she would never wish this hurt on him. She told me that if one of them had to go before the other, she was glad it happened the way it did. She said she would have never wished this kind of hurt on him, and feared that she did not feel it would have been something he could have handled. That is true love. Every second she grieves for him, she proves the love she has for him.
I know I have the same love in my life. My husband never misses a moment of showing his love to me and appreciating me. Sometimes I catch him just staring at me, and there is the most loving smile on his face. I know there is nothing he wouldn't do for me. He doesn't talk about how pretty women on TV are, he always lets me know how beautiful he thinks I am. He always makes me feel as though I am the only girl he wants to look at and be with. I don't feel like I have to measure up to all of the other beautiful women in the world. I love my husband with all my heart, and I know one day one of was will be grieving the same way that my Aunt grieves today. But our love is worth it all.

2 comments:

Matt said...

I hope we go out together at 95 years old flying upside down through a barn dorr. I love you sweet.

Cara said...

That was beautiful. I'm so glad you have Matt who is such a great husband. We're so blessed to have husbands who are following Christ, aren't we?
"Ain't Love Grand?"

Zach and Abby's Baptism