Aside from all the pressures of my teen years, one force was particularly unstoppable- the emotions of love.
I had my first crush at age seventeen, falling hard for a beautiful girl of the same age who lived near my cousin's house a mere city away.
We spent hours talking on the phone over the summer and met only a couple of times, when my parents took my sister and I to visit our cousins. From there, I'd sneak away and we'd sit on the swings at a playground nearby and just gaze into each other's eyes.
It was all so new...feelings so powerful and beautiful....the draw of attraction so profound...
Not yet considering sex, we both enjoyed the elations of a simple kiss and hug, still young to the world, and new to love.
But as summer ended, my crush moved on, and found someone else as the object of her affections in the new school year. I was crushed. The pain inside didn't allow me to sleep. How could I possibly make it without her?
Fast forward several years, and I have made it just fine, with a beautiful wife and children in my arms, and few, if any regrets.
In today's article, I wanted to focus on why love exists, in particular, what perpetuates it.
In considering that notion, I was brought back to that crush many years ago. It seems that as teenagers, not only do our bodies forego uncontrollable changes, but so do our minds and hearts, and their interconnection with our bodies are indeed profound!
I think back to the longing desire I had to see that first girlfriend- the sleepless nights, the carefree conversation on the phone, the butterflies in my chest at the thought of seeing her in mere hours.
It's safe to say that all of these feelings substantiate a faith that all humans have in love- in some connection that we have to something or someone that we know is tangible and everlasting in one form or another.
Back then, I knew that after hanging up the phone, my heart had beat wickedly knowing that soon I would have the chance to be with someone that cared to be with me as well. You could say I had "faith" in our connection, both eventually in the physical sense, and ongoing in the emotional sense.
Today I wanted to state that faith is multi-faceted, and applies not only to religion, where people hold a long-lasting belief in their creator, but in love for one another.
It's a lot like when you meet your soul mate. At first you are attracted to each other...but as each interaction ends, its up to your "hope" or "faith" in each other, that you both continue to meet and become closer.
Love as faith strengthens the bond between good friends. It is the desire to care for, respect, and spend time with another person that is an example of the love that grows fondly in hour hearts!
Love as faith also leads two people to get to know each other, learn from each other, grow each other, and compliment each other in many dimensions. It's not just the consumption of time together in physical, sexual, monetary, or other ways...but rather, love as faith brings a desire to nurture the future of you and your soul mate in a constructive and rewarding way.
After all, most religious followers believe in faith to be everlasting, respecting their lives, their beliefs, and the world around them forever.
We should all recognize the love our hearts perpetuate, as a type of wonderful, powerful faith, that nurtures our souls, our interactions with the ones we love, and our care for the world around us.
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