Living the Single Life: What is Love?

Once upon a time in a land far far away, there lived a beautiful princess and a handsome prince...

Every little girl grew up hearing these words right before she went to bed and then would dream of when she would finally meet her prince charming.  I remember dressing up as Cinderella or Belle or Aurora and pretending that my prince was coming. These stories taught us that true love is a whimsical perfect sensation that can happen at first sight and lasts forever.  As we grew older, we were introduced to chick flicks and rom coms that made us laugh, cry, become breathless, and feel like we were in the movie.  From Pride and Prejudice to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and from Sleepless in Seattle to Hitch, we learn that love can happen anywhere with anyone under any circumstances.

Why, then, am I still sitting here almost 23 years later, having never been kissed, and haven't been on a date in months?

Newsflash: Love in the movies isn't all it's cracked up to be.

From firsthand experience, I can say that falling in love is hard and nearly impossible even though it seems like everyone around you is having no problems at all.  It's frustrating seeing people around you fall in love and leave you out on the sidelines to dry and pretend like you're in a relationship with pizza and ice cream.

One of my biggest dreams is to become a wife and mother.  It's difficult wanting something so badly and not be able to have it, so each day is a little harder and scarier thinking that it may not happen soon or even happen in this life.

Luckily for me and you, true love has been around longer than we have and can be found in our relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  They love us more than we can know and want to help us in every aspect of our lives.  The Atonement of Jesus Christ was the greatest act of love that ever happened.  Christ suffered for each of us personally.  There really is no greater love than that. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).  Everyday that goes by, I find comfort that there is a loving Heavenly Father and older brother looking out for me.

True love isn't just roses and kisses and candlelit dinners.  It's feeling the warm embrace of the Spirit as you kneel down to pray and converse with your Heavenly Father.  It's looking at your roommates and feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the support they give you.  It's walking down the street on a warm summer day and smiling at those you pass.  True love is all around us and may not be as far far away as you may think.

Just for fun....Here's a video of love songs throughout the decades!