What is true love?
It would be difficult to answer this question. Maybe in my early years as a human being, it would be a simple question to answer. But this kind of query had evolved and became a complex one as life gives its best to the feeble time I have here on earth.
In this book by Jenny King, true love is that one person who will spend his or her life with you, for better or for worse, until death do you part. I must say that I had the same interpretation and perspective of true love. That must be the reason, why I had always been looking but not really intentionally getting or entering into a relationship with the opposite sex. I thought I could find true love in boys or in men. Though I was not specifically fond of interacting with them, I did have that longing or yearning to be crush back or love back by a boy or a man whom I was interested in. I was always waiting on the receiving end without even giving, ironic wasn't it.
The book Discover & Keep True Love shared a lot of practical tips on how to find a partner with whom you intended to be married with. I am already talking about marriage here where in fact I haven't had a boyfriend, well it's never wrong to be prepared just in case. haha. Spare me with your teasing, I know, I know, but I just want to take a chance on this book. I remember my co-teacher saying that by reading the books I bought from her I may increase my chance of getting a boyfriend and be married. I laughed at her jokes, or maybe she was serious. I don't know. This book just interests me and the other two books are Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris and To Know Him Completely by Jenny King. So in total, there are three books to read to have a bigger chance in the sea of fish.
I was looking at the wrong places and the wrong persons. True love was never found, only fleeting feelings. There was pain and struggles because of unrequited love or crushes and those made me feel antagonistic towards couples who were head over heels with each other. I was bitter at some point in my life, but I am glad that I found Him, or more like He found me before it's too late, or maybe He found me at the right time because his timing is always perfect.
It is never wrong to desire or to want someone with whom you can build a family of your own or exchange the undying oath of "Till Death Do Us Part". I still do, I desire to be with someone. I surrendered it to Him, and I think it is a moment-by-moment thing. I just pray that He prepares my heart for the will He has in my life. I believe I am in my waiting season, so by faith and strength that are from Him, I patiently wait. But until when? God only knows.
Who is true love?
Let me rephrase the question, who is true love? Let me leave the answer below, and may you seek Him because He wants you to receive the truest true love:
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~Romans 5:8
NBS 99 Sale is extended until the end of August 2021. Despite doing some major budgeting for the two months, I was able to squeeze in at least 6 books, 5 of them are from the National Book Store Shopee account and 1 from their branch at Pavillion Mall Biñan. These are the books I got online and their discounted prices:
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach - P99
Desert God by Wilbur Smith - P100
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon - P99
Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary - P50
Sword of Destiny by Justin Hill - P100
It was packed pretty well and got more discounts via Shopee coins and vouchers, so in total, I spent 336 pesos for 5 books. I thought that was a pretty good deal I guess. hehe. And this is the biggest sale with huge discounts I ever experienced from the National Book Store plus the mode of payment is COD or Cash-on-Delivery via Shopee platform, I didn't want to miss it. I got nothing from BBW 2021 online sale since they have a payment first policy and the delivery could take months.
Then, just the other day after claiming our loot bags from Gabay Guro with my co-teachers, we also dropped by at the NBS branch of Pavillion Mall. I wasn't able to resist the charm of the books though I was really trying my best not to be tempted, I decided to buy one book by Sophie Kinsella. Shopaholic and Sister was such a steal for a price of 63 pesos from 351 pesos. So why not squeeze another book on my tight budget. hehe. Justification. haha. I am hopeless.
Men have always been a mystery to me. For sure I had a lot of ideas about them based on the environment I grew up in, books I read, movies, and series I have watched, I thought I knew them well enough. But now, here at the moment, I realize that it is only a peak of an iceberg and some are biased or stereotyped or even a fabricated version of what a man is or can be or should be. I was clueless, out of footing, and in a bliss of ignorance.
The male type of human species was a threat and a danger to me. They are enemies. Violent, angry, and abusive were only a few of the impressions I had towards them. Though I had a few crushes and infatuations from the male type species, it didn't diminish the bad impression I had with the group. I guess it was the idea of a perfect or fictional image of a man that I created based on them that made me fall for or like them, which most of the time were too ideal to be real.
I reconciled this off feeling towards men when I surrendered it to God. There are still times I get too conscious and suspicious towards men, but I am aware that it is a moment-by-moment surrendering, it is not a one-time thing for me for now. I am looking forward to that time when this ill-feeling will completely vanish in my heart, and I am glad that I am in that process.
When I accepted how sinful and imperfect I am, and how Jesus Christ paid for my sins and that through Him I was forgiven, I was able to forgive him, them, those who did something to me, to my innocence. And also through the redeeming power of Jesus Christ, my dark past no longer has its grip on me. He freed me from shame and guilt that haunted me for a very long time. He made me anew. He brought peace to my life. He accepted me and transformed my life.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17
So the recent book I read, Know Him Completely by Jenny King, gave me some practical tips or information that can be or may be useful in understanding or at least have a little idea on how to deal with M. Again, I agreed and sometimes disagreed with the author as I read the book. There are some ideas that I think are outdated, that's for me, and there are also a few helpful tips that I appreciated so much. Better yet, try reading this book by Ms. King, and you may tell me what you think by commenting down below or sending me a private message. See you.
When I was younger and so oblivious of what really matters in life, I thought beauty is only skin deep. that beauty can only be achieved only if you are perfect, if you aren't, then being beautiful is too far from your reach. And this kind of mindset pestered me unceasingly during my adolescent years and early and late 20s, I thought I can only be called beautiful, only if I am perfect, free from all flaws and imperfections. I wanted to be a good example of the manufactured beauty of society. I did the best I could in my own way to be perfect, but in the end, I was far more than being perfect, even light-years away. The sad part during those times of insecurities and dissatisfaction with my physical appearance is I took for granted some people who appreciated and accepted me the most, the real me, the imperfect me, with a beauty that I failed to recognize because of the unrealistic expectations from myself.
It is only in recent years that I finally accepted that true beauty is more than meets the eye. That anyone and everyone can be called beautiful. The true beauty that we all possess within us is something that we fail to recognize most of the time. I thought beauty is something that I see physically from celebrities, models, and the likes. They are all gorgeous and I thought I wanted to become like them, look like them, but I was so wrong trying to copycat them. I may not look like any other celebrities or models out there, but I am glad that it is never too late for me to accept and appreciate the imperfections I have and recognize the true beauty God has given me.
You can be beautiful outside but completely rotten inside. Cliche and supernatural it may sound, I feel most beautiful when I have peace and contentment, and when I said peace, I mean "the" true peace.
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
1 Peter 3:3-4
You Can Be Beautiful by Diana Reyes is another preloved book that I got from my co-teacher. It took me more than a month to finish this book. I have to be honest I disagree with some of the ideas I encounter from this book. You may want to read the book to know exactly what I mean. In general, it is a self-help book that showcases practical tips on how to be beautiful, especially for women. You have all the right to apply or not to follow the recommended tips that you may come face to face from the book. It is helpful in its own way and you can get some helpful reminders to improve or add light to the way we see beauty.
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