Love Joy
By Nicole Gill Council, CouncilMag.com
Even if you’re not a regular churchgoer, I’m sure you’re familiar with the scripture “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant” from 1st Corinthians 13. It is often read at weddings, even if it has nothing to do with romantic love. Nevertheless, as a newlywed I take that verse to heart.
After a one-year engagement, I decided not to allow the pandemic to derail our love during these unpredictable times. So, unlike traditional weddings, we got married outdoors at a lakeside park in a private ceremony west of Washington, D.C.
Here we are eight months later celebrating our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple and those verses still resonate. In addition to being a month commemorating love, February also is designated as American Heart Month. Here are a few other “love” designations for the shortest month of the year, according to National Today: National Weddings Month, and International Friendship Month, Rose Day.
“Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.”
Protecting the heart is a necessity in love and health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. The key risk factors are high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking. About 47% of all people in the United States have one of those risk factors. That sounds scary, but there are ways to reduce your risk of heart disease. Lowering your stress, eating heart-healthy foods, stopping smoking and being physically active are all things that can be done to lower your risk. I know – easier said than done.
I am generally one big ball of stress. Getting married during a pandemic should have sent that stress through the roof, but it didn’t. I tried to be physically active. I can’t remember whether I ate heart-healthy foods, but I know I was monitoring how much I ate. However, I wasn’t in stress overdrive because I have a supportive partner who knew what I needed to limit my stressors.
What does love mean to me? Love means security, respect, support, communication and caring. Love is being able to disagree without being disagreeable. It is being able to hear when you don’t want to listen. It is loving when your partner is getting on your last nerve. Love is joy.
