Brooks and Company 4th Qtr 2016 4th Qtr 2016 | Page 9

is a love that grows out of weathering the storms of life together . Mature love is not about the fireworks and passion . It is a sense of belonging and security . Sometimes the greatest love is not the passionate , burning , hot , roaring flames that consume you and sends tingles up your spine . Sometimes the greatest love is the slow , steady , burning flame deep within your heart that is the greatest . This type of love comes on you softly and can slip through your fingers unnoticed if you are not careful . It understands you not only have a lover , but more importantly a friend to journey through this world into the next . True love is a person that will stand beside you through the mountains of laundry , dirty dishes , sick children , creamed peas in your hair , and the stack of bills piled on the desk . True love is realizing your wife is so exhausted from staying up with a sick child ; she fell asleep sitting up on the couch . You hurdle the coffee table and the sleeping dog to grab the baby before his whimpers become a full blown cry and wake her . Before anyone enters a marriage , they should understand that kind of love is rare and will stand the test of time . If you cannot imagine the person standing with you through all of those things , then that is not the right person for you . God has blessed me beyond measure because I have had both types of love with the same man . I have the fireworks , passion , and the soft tender mature love . I do not understand why God has blessed me so abundantly , but I am thankful every day for the tender mercies He has bestowed on me . I would tell any man or woman to wait on a spouse that you can see both types of love in their character and actions . Choose a spouse who will pray with you and put God first . Marry someone who is just crazy enough to make you laugh during the tough times because this is the type of person who will stick beside you in sickness and in health , for richer or poorer , till death do you part .