It isn't enough that a man should live
For a man must love;
It isn't enough that a man should love
For a man should love fully
and be able to bear
both the pain
and the highest joys
of his love.
He must know how to treasure that love,
how to protect it
with all its might,
against the world
that often gets jealous
of those
who have found true love.
Protect it
from the innermost chambers
of your heart
and let not your soul depart
without it.
It is your key
to eternity.
Happy Valentines Everyone! :-) Today, I would like to bring back one of my most loved articles titled "When I Asked for a Rose". I hope you have a romantic day, enjoy reading:
When I Asked for a Rose
It was January 31, 2000, and Valentines Day seem so near. I was praying to God when I suddenly felt so sad. I felt so lonely. I knew that dreaded day would soon be coming when girls would soon be receiving flowers from their special someone, when they would all go about proudly carrying those flowers, certain of the sincere love of those that offered them. I haven’t got any lover though. So no flowers for me, no bouquet, not even a single red rose.
It was kinda embarassing, but I knew the Lord knew my heart and there was no point in hiding anything. I remained true to my feelings, and I asked God for something I’ve never asked before. I’ve asked Him to send me a rose, just one. I don’t know how it could possibly happen, but I prayed, like a daughter asking something from her dear father. I prayed for a single red rose. I prayed for a small expression of love, a small sign that I am loved, and that I am special as well.
It was a heartfelt prayer, though I never really thought much of it the day after. I guess it was enough for me that I uttered it, and that the Lord heard me. It was already upon God’s hands whether to grant the prayer of silly girls like me. CLICK here to Continue
As I proceed with my 21 days of consciously improving my relationship to myself, of loving myself so I could later on love others more, I became aware of one reason that causes many of our heartaches.
I've realized that we are not allowing love in our lives, and for that reason, we are so often lacking in love. This is however not a conscious choice, but a subconscious response that we do, and unaware of what we do, we are in truth blocking the inward flow of love into our lives. How so?
By virtue of expectations. By experience or lessons taught us by other people, we have developed certain expectations on how we should be loved. And if these expectations are not met, we immediately conclude that we are not loved.
But the truth is that we may be loved. Maybe not in ways we wanted to. Not in ways we've learned or were taught us, but in ways that person knew best how to love.
The same is true as regards allowing God's love into our lives. We have certain expectations. A lot of expectations! God should do this. God should be that. He is All-Powerful and All-Knowing isn't He? So He should do this if He loves me.
But what if He doesn't do exactly what we want Him to do? Does it mean He doesn't love us? But how can we measure His love in the first place? Are we All-Knowing as He is?
Because of our expectations, we block so much love that should have flowed into our lives. If we desire to love ourselves more, let us be kinder to ourselves. Let us allow more love to flow in our hearts.
And if a person expresses love differently, say he is able to show more in deeds than in words, let us extend our understanding and our appreciation. We are loved! And that's what really counts :-)
{ hi joyce. my partner told me that he needs time for him to think things over. i know that its the end of our relationship. i have been in pain for the past 3 months until a week a ago when he told me through text message about this. he didnt even care to talk to me face to face.why am i in so much pain? i cant escape from the pain joyce. help me } – Feb 02, 9:45 AM
{ Hi joyce, i feel that im at the lowest point of my life...late last year i found out that my bf ( for 6 months) is still going steady with her prior gf. i was crushed after learning that he fooled me for 6 months that we are together. but since i love him so much, i forgave him with his promise that he will end things with her and come back to me clean slate. but he did not come back at all. he said he was empty after breaking up with her (doubt if they really did break... } – Jan 29, 2:20 PM
{ Dear Joyce, I don't have a husband who physically abuses me but i have one who does so verbally and emotionally. He doesn't care whether we be in public places like malls, offices etc he just feels he needs to, in his own terms, "vent out his spleen". He had called me many things and often times says that i am stupid. He said i needed to reform, and that the only way was "his way". for the past year i have been doing all he asks of me, i am not allowed to talk to my friends, neither am... } – Jan 24, 9:16 AM
{ Hi Ms. Joyce I really need someone to talk to.. I can't open up to my family about my problem. The past few months me and my husband where talking about things we need to discuss together..I asked him to find a job and i will help him coz nahihiya na ako sa mga mom in law ko who's been supporting us for the past 4 years. I talked to him calmly.. But the last 2 weeks i never bothered him about it for i didn't see any willingness to work, coz he wants daw to build a business which... } – Jan 23, 12:41 AM
{ Hi Joyce, Its Johnathan here. I just recently came back from my trip.It was an incredible trip and I saw a lot of great things and opportunities God has to offer in my life. I have come back to work fully now and it was not long until the intensity of work has caught up with me. This year, work will require to go to places that I have never been before and it is certainly out of my comfort zone. I still miss my friend dearly...every single day. Some days I make good progress, but there are times where... } – Jan 22, 1:11 PM
