a love letter

I love love, and I'll admit that I'm definitely a hopeless romantic. Watching rom-coms is quite honestly my favorite pastime, and I swoon whenever I see a sweet boy holding his girlfriend's coffee while she zips her coat.

Love, to me, is the clearest and most beautiful form of God's grace in our lives. Feeling loved is no doubt the best feeling in the world. There is something wonderful to be said about knowing that somebody is there for you at all times. Of course, there are many forms of love. There's the love you feel when you walk with Jesus in faith; ultimately the most important kind. There's the familial love you get from your parents, siblings, grandparents etc. There's the friendship love you get from friends who feel like family. And then there's romantic love; the butterflies in your stomach kind of love. 

 I think I should just quickly say that I have never been in love. There's never been a boyfriend in my life, and therefore never anyone who's even come close to this love stage. This may make me unqualified to be writing about this, but it has been on my mind so much lately. And when things are on my mind, I write. 

• Soulmates? Love at first sight?

 I believe in soulmates and love at first sight. Many people will disagree with me, and that's okay. It's just so spectacular to think that everyone has a person that is made for them. It doesn't mean that everyone ends up with their soulmate because life happens and people make mistakes. But I do think that there is a chance for everyone to find the one person they are meant to be with. I also have a feeling that when you see the one, there just has to be this jolting feeling of "Wow, he/she is it." Maybe something a little less dramatic runs through your head, but wouldn't you just get the best rush of butterflies and a feeling that something grand is about to happen? 

• "That's only in the movies"

Often when I talk to people about how much I love the idea of future me falling in love, I get a lot of warnings. I get told to not put too much hope into it,  not to want that fairytale love too much because it's a lot to hope for. I get told things like "It's not all it's cracked up to be" or "You're so young.  Concern yourself with other things." 

I know this is all being said out of love (ironically).  It is simply a way to tell me not to get my hopes up, so I won't get crushed later. It's a way to say that love isn't all there is in life. And I agree. I shouldn't be pining over the idea of finding my Romeo until the day I die, and it definitely shouldn't be the main focus of my life. But there is something hard-wired in me that gets so excited over the idea of the great love story. I don't want this part of me to die, because when the right person comes around I will be ready to be swept off my feet. To whoever is reading this, if you are like me and you are so ready for the great love story- don't lose it. Don't tell yourself it's silly like others may tell you because one day you will be so grateful you held onto it.

• It's the small things

I love the scene in This Is Us when Jack and Rebecca are washing the dishes together on one of their first dates. When she saw him take initiative in helping out, even with something so simple, she started falling in love with him. He didn't take her on a helicopter ride or out to an expensive dinner, but he didn't need any of that. This meant even more than anything else would have. 

I love the simplicity of spending time with people you love. Doing just about anything with people you care about is worth a lot. 

• Never settle

 It breaks my heart to hear about people in relationships that don't fulfill them. Don't settle for okay, because great is probably right around the corner. The big, beautiful love story is out there waiting for you. 

I want to end by telling a story that I think is very relevant to all this mushy, gushy, lovely love stuff. 

One time I was assigned partners to this boy I had a little bit of a crush on. It was the classic, "aw, he's so cute and seems so sweet" kind of thing- not a big deal. Nonetheless, being assigned his partner made me smile from ear to ear.  I am so glad that this happened, but not for the reason you may think. I quickly realized that this boy was nothing like I had thought, and nothing like I had hoped. God had made this simple action happen to show me that I didn't need to spend any more time thinking about someone that was so wrong for me. 

Although I was initially disappointed, now I am grateful.
Not only will you know when the right person has come along, God will help steer you in the right direction. 

I hate writing conclusion paragraphs, so I won't even bother writing one for my blog posts because I don't have to :)

This is more just a bunch of my late-night musings than anything else, but I really do hope you enjoyed reading. 

Just know that love is out there for you and it is going to be so exciting and beautiful when it comes. 

xx, gracie