Of the 365 days in a year, this is the only day I am giving myself permission to be mushy. So please excuse me as I channel the aspiring Hallmark writer in me and pen these words:
It’s not diamonds in a velvet box, tulips flown in from Holland, nor dinner at an expensive restaurant. Love can have its grand, extravagant moments but what will keep the embers of love alive are the small, seemingly insignificant acts of thoughtfulness.
It’s him calling you for no particular reason. Asking if you’re feeling warm or cold. Considering what food you prefer before you head off somewhere to eat. Those acts, for me, provide glimpses of love showing itself in its purest, simplest form. Gestures that wouldn’t otherwise merit front-page news but will nevertheless warm a heart.
My views on love haven’t changed much over the years. Heartbreaks and risks might have sobered me and made me a little bit wiser but I still keep in my heart today the same hopes I had yesterday.
Love is not the fireworks that illuminate the sky every new year’s eve; it is the constant, steady light from a lamp that brightens a room every night. It’s not being blown away by the music of a symphony orchestra; it’s being warmed by the strains of a familiar tune from the radio.
And love, more than being about passion, is rather about grace. For isn’t this the same way we are loved by God—that we are loved, not because we deserved it (we didn’t and we still don’t) but because He simply chose to? That we didn’t have to pay Him with good works for us to be declared worthy of love? For if that were the case, wouldn’t that be another form of barter system, “my good works in exchange for Your love”? Will it ever be right for love to be cheapened to mean an obligatory gesture by the other party because of the services to whom it was rendered? No. A thousand times no.[Click here for full text]
Between diamonds and regular calls, I’d still choose the latter as I once said,
Diamonds may be forever. But a lifetime guarantee of 5 o’clock calls—the security and warmth of connection through shared conversation—can outvalue those precious gems and outshine the moon and the stars anytime. Or maybe, it’s just me. [Click here for full text]
This lady is not waiting for a knight in shining armor nor a prince from a faraway kingdom to come and sweep her off her feet. All she is hoping for is a man brave enough to make a move, gentle enough to treat her with kindness, and humble enough to trust God. And she might as well be speaking for all the other Eves waiting for their Adams to wake up.
Filed under: Melancholic thoughts, Single Sentiments
Yes Beng, if only men knew how simple we really are. Like what you said, we are hoping for “a man brave enough to make a move, gentle enough to treat her with kindness, and humble enough to trust God.”
I still remember that 5 o’clock calls of Miler. Constancy, that is an important thing among us. May we find that love someday… soon : )
After you, Jen.
beautifully written, beng! Now that I am living with my husband/partner 24/7 days, Valentine’s Day do take on another meaning. Not that he courted me with roses or dinner dates before…on the contrary. You can say, we got to know each other first. But Love did blossom because we do pray together. And we did that this Valentine’s day—for love and peace for within and the whole world. I don’t think we are alone on this…I know some friends who have done it too. And this will also give single-blessedness a change in concept…mind you, there should really be no thing as loneliness. for even a lot of couples feel lonely, before, during and after Valentine’s Day.
Thanks for the comment, ‘te Bernadette. I am always humbled that you find time to read my blog and make all these thoughtful comments.
Getting to know each other first is always a good first step towards love. Praying, on the other hand, can keep you together and dependent on Somebody much powerful than you and the other person combined.
Loneliness, ah yes, it can creep in to marriages too. And I guess it’ll be a greater misery to be with someone and still feel lonely.
But let this comment not end on a sad note. God can, and will always, be the best company one can ever have. He’s the only one who can truly promise us, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. (Heb. 13:5).” And to that I say, “Amen.” 
The kind of heart that would appreciate little things is just as beautiful, if not even more so, than the heart that would give them. Ikaw, Beng, you have “both kinds” of that heart. I think all your friends and colleagues (me included) have been blessed by your thoughtfulness!
Great post.
Wow, Karen. This compliment can last me the whole year. Salamat. What an encouragement for me to keep my heart where it is now.
And here I was re-thinking the wisdom of this post (or the idea of keeping it posted in cyberspace).
After you Beng
Since both of us just wants to give way, how about we just both continue to trust God (like what we’re already doing) and pray that when the right time comes, God will calm all our fears and we can love like crazy?