We must lead our hearts – not let our hearts lead us. That’s today’s K-LOVE Love Dare Day 14 challenge.
You don’t let your feelings and emotions do the driving. You put them in the back seat and tell them where you’re going.
That’s one of my favorite quotes from today’s challenge post. Love it!
When we’re first married, it’s easy to love because we’re “in love” with our spouse. But, relying on those feelings to persist over time is not always the smartest philosophy. Choosing to love may be better.
…love that chooses to love is just as powerful as love that feels like loving. In many ways, it’s a truer love because it has its eyes wide open.
We may not always feel like loving in our relationship. We have to choose to love.
Left to ourselves, we’ll always lean toward being disapproving of one another. She’ll get on your nerves. He’ll aggravate you. But our days are too short to waste in bickering over pretty things. Life is too fleeting for that.
Instead, it’s time to lead your heart to once again delight in your mate. Enjoy your spouse. Take her hand and seek her companionship. Desire his conversation. Remember why you fell in love with her personality. Accept this person – quirks and all – and welcome him or her back into your heart.
Again, you get to choose what you treasure. It’s not like you’re born with certain pre-sets and preferences you’re destined to operate from. If you’re irritable, it’s because you choose to be. If you can’t function without a clean house, it’s because you’ve decided no other way will do. If you pick at your mate more than you praise them, it’s because you’ve allowed your heart to be selfish. You’ve led yourself into criticism.
So now it’s time to lead your heart back out. It’s time to learn to delight in your spouse again, then to watch your heart actually start enjoying who they are.
Today’s dare may be directing you to a real and radical change of heart. For some, the move toward delight may be only a small step away. For others, it may require a giant leap from ongoing disgust.
Today’s dare: Purposefully neglect an activity you would normally do so you can spend quality time with your spouse. Do something he or she would love to do or a project they’d really like to work on. Just to be together.
As someone who likes to “go with my gut” and “trust my heart,” choosing to do something I may or may not be feeling at any given moment (love or anything else) is not easy medicine to take.
With that said, today’s dare will be one of the easiest for me so far. I now have “permission” to not do something. Hah! Gotta love it, right?
Image credit: lusi
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