Will You Still Love Me?

Always is a powerful word. I think it ranks right up there with the likes of “Infinity”, “Exponentially” and “Forever”. It has no finite end. That’s a pretty bold statement to make, especially considering someday we all have to move on. Who’s to say things won’t change? How do we know feelings will remain the same? How do you know your heart will still hold enough room for “always” even as it continues to make new room for new relationships? What if your heart dumps cache like your brain..or your cell phone? Heck, I can still remember my grandma’s phone number even though she’s been gone for over 20 years, but I can’t remember the password to my email accounts half the time. So, maybe the cache dump is random. If that’s true, will you still love me when I’m 50? How about 60? That’s a lot of time for me to make mistakes, backslide, forget about your face, or forget how close we once were. What if “always” doesn’t mean the same for me, as it does for you? Will you still love me even if I forget about you?

Why would you do that? Why would you continue to hold special room in your heart for a man who doesn’t deserve your love? Maybe on some level, you’re crazy. Maybe you’re a glutton for punishment. Or…just maybe I really don’t understand how deeply your love for me actually goes. Maybe I’ve never understood it.

I do know this, though. Lately, you’ve been on my mind almost everyday. That special bond we share has really been pinging my heart. It forces me to think about what I’m thinking about these days. Are you watching me somehow? Keeping an eye on me from a distance maybe? Is that why I can’t shake the thoughts of you throughout the day?

Maybe you will continue to love me, in spite of my faults, failures and forgetfulness. Maybe you are calling me, to someplace deeper that makes no logical sense. Maybe what I think of as imagination is real.

 

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Always and Forever

You remember being a kid, and words like always and forever didn’t carry much weight? Think back to when you were five years old. Maybe you had a favorite stuffed animal to sleep with every night. It was a sure bet that you would always love that plush teddy, and would probably keep it until the end of time. Maybe at seventeen, you had “the” crush. No matter what happened in the years to come, you were going to always love that boy, or hold a special place in your heart for that one girl forever. Steve and Lindsay know what I’m talking about (I love my brother and sister). Or, how about that 1960s muscle car you bought with your own saved money, dad. You babied that car for decades, and just know that you’ll always cherish it. Even now, well into your 60s, that car’s going to be with you forever.

Okay, those examples may have been a little superficial, but deep down at the heart of it all, that’s the kind of love that makes an awesome marriage. When a man and a woman come together under God, weather any and all storms that rage against them, raise a family as a united front and pass on into the after life knowing they’ve given their all to their blessed mate; that’s what always and  forever looks like.

It doesn’t just pertain to the marriage relationship, however. Lasting friendships can–and often do–exhibit always and forever, too. Did you know that King David and Saul’s son Johnathan loved each other with a deep love? I don’t mean any funny-business-love either. I’m talking pure, no judgment, deep, lasting love that only the best of friends share.

Do you know what it is to have less than a handful of deep root inner circle friends? I’m talking about pals you might not even speak with on a daily basis, but when you do get together, time stands still. Do you know what it is to instinctively know when your pal is hurting? That sixth-sense type of love that takes precedence over everything else going on in your life, for one moment? Some of you know what I’m talking about. That’s the always and forever bond of true friends.

Most parents instinctively know what always and forever love looks like. It’s that unspoken bond you have with your children that automatically makes you put yourself and your needs behind theirs. No matter what, you’re going to always love them, forever. That kind of love makes a 41-year old mother refer to her 24 year-old son as, “my baby”. It’s sappy, but it’s pure.

Do you have a spouse, a friend or a child in that always and forever spot locked in your heart? Make sure you tell them what they mean to you, sometime this week. Life is short. Our loved ones need to know we care, and that we’re in their lives for the long haul, no matter what.

 

*always*