Gotta Be "The Notebook" or Bust

Being the big reading nerd that I am, I sometimes get on a reading kick, sometimes it's a particular genre that grabs hold of me, while others it's a particular author. I just finished my third Nicholas Sparks book in a week, first "The Notebook", followed by "The Wedding", and finally, tonight, "A Bend in the Road". I really like his writing style, and the man surely knows how to tug some heartstrings. I am, in reading Sparks' works, reminded of Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail", where she tells Tom Hanks, "So much of what I see in my life reminds me of something I read in a book, but shouldn't it be the other way around?" At first I didn't grasp the profound depth of that statement, but it really hit me after reading these books. I am not naive enough to think that the background and the details of my own story will necessarily be like it is in "The Notebook"...after all, that part of it is fiction...the happy ending, however, is very real, and I am pretty sure I couldn't settle for anything less.

I believe in the existence of the total package of love, and the kind of passionate love I read about in this book is a fine example. The power this kind of love holds should not be underestimated. The Bible uses many words to describe love, but the the quality that comes most immediately to mind for me when I think of love is perseverance...and that takes many forms. It's everything from refusing to settle for less than your heart's desire, to holding on against extremely long odds, to walking out the road you are on with a person to the very end and getting the answers you seek, come what may. My prayer is that, when this type love comes along for me, I don't reject it out of hand simply because I can't conceive of it and don't believe it is possible...I truly hope that I can just accept it as it comes, begin the journey in earnest, and enjoy the ride.

I don't know yet how my love journey will end...I only know that God promises us the desires of our heart, and I'm sure he knows the kind of love I seek and how important it is to me that I find it. As hard as it has been and may yet be, if I continue to passionately persevere, I do know that my journey will end with the answers I seek and the love I have longed for...and as for the details, well, that part of my book hasn't been written just yet, and I'm excited to see what God can come up with. :)