the hard

"it's going to be hard...and we're going to have to work at this.everyday.but I wanna do that because I want you...I want all of you.forever.you and me.everyday."I do this every year.I get in these chick flick kicks right around valentine's day.it's the hopeless romantic in me... :)sweet home Alabama? I can't even count the number of times I've watched that..."so I can kiss you whenever I want." best. line.seven brides for seven brothers? just ask my little brother how many times we made him watch that growing up(ironically, he does an INCREDIBLE howard keel impression..."bless her beautiful hide..." sorry bud, it's true.) ;)but the one that rips my heart out and makes it swell with love for my man has to be the notebook.and not completely for the reasons that you think (although that kiss scene has to go down in history as one of the most passionate ever made.) :)nope, what grabbed my heart the most was obviously the end...but the end wouldn't have been as sweet without this game-changer scene:I love it.it makes you hold your breath.it's awfully real.it's horribly raw.and it tells a beginning of a story of a most beautiful love that fully realizes it's a choice.you know I believe that, right?that real love is a choice.it's not a feeling...that's emotion, which I'm not going to lie, I think you need it...it just doesn't last.when emotion lies, real love that lasts is chosen.real love has endurance.real love has muscle.real love has determination.real love is not selfish.real love is patient.knowing another's faults and choosing to love knowing full well your own.it's becoming rarer and rarer the longer matt and I are married...so many who end up not choosing real love.it only furthers the fact that real love can only come from Him.the other thing I noticed about that scene is the way his hands cover his heart.he aches...he aches.real love aches.real love is hard.the hard is beautiful and awful all at the same time.and I'm so glad that the movie doesn't leave you there...no, you get to see the love they choose day in a day out refined and lived out to the most beautiful end...this valentine's day I'm so thankful for a man who chooses the hard with me.who teaches me to look to Him to learn better how to love.I love him.without him I am not me.I am so thankful that I get to spend the rest of my days living out the hard with him. :)