Real love vs. Hollywood love

For my marriage prep class we had to read an article which discussed mature versus immature love. The ideas of this article were so intriguing to me. As I have gotten older I have become rather frustrated and disillusioned with the easy romance that Hollywood portrays. I knew that there was so much more required in a real relationship than the movies showed. Yet, watching chick flick after chick flick will eventually skew anyone’s view of love.
I love the concept discussed in this article, that to have mature love we need to have passion, intimacy, and commitment in equal proportions. I think that is so true. A lot of time Hollywood focuses so much on passion, that they forget the very important concepts of being truly committed to that person and also being emotionally intimate with them. I also love how this article emphasized the conscious nature of love. Although I definitely think there should be romantic, exciting feelings, it is so important that the relationship can make sense logically as well. There needs to be a balance between these two things.
This is one of the reasons I feel so blessed to have the direction of the Holy Spirit. As he directs me to understand God’s will, I can learn to seek a direction that I feel with both my mind and my heart. Sometimes in romance we get so caught up with the feelings of our heart that we forget to include our head in the decision. I believe that true love will be similar to what I feel in my life when I feel direction from God through the Holy Spirit. I believe that true love will feel peaceful and uplifting. I feel that true love will increase my ability to understand God’s purpose for me in my life.
A lot of time poems and movies discuss people becoming blinded by love. But I would like to think that true love has the effect of clarifying and strengthening one’s ability to see. I believe that through the process of loving this person, you will be able to understand together more perfectly the plan that God has intended for both of you.