I have been fortunate to have been loved and to have loved in my lifetime.

The joy I have felt during the moments when I was most at ease and engaged with someone I held so dear were beyond what I ever expected love to be.

But as a young child, I never understood that with the highs of love also come the lows.

Like most children I believed that like in the fairy tales: Your one true love would come along and make everything right in your world.

That just isn’t true.

Even in the best of relationships, life does not stay static… changes occur… adjustments must be made.

I see now that my love for someone, does not guarantee me a constant high in life, but gives me the will to move through the lows, to work within the parameters of our shared life, to understand another human being and cherish and love them flaws and all.

It allows me to be vulnerable… attest to my own strength of character… and reminds me constantly what I am willing to give of myself.

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“Dear God, thank you for giving me the gift of love. Thank you for blessing me with those I cherish.”