Having grown up watching fairytales and movies portraying a “forever after” scenario, countless of women have been conditioned to believe they’d meet a man who would sweep them off their feet and into such a setting. Reality, however, has a way of slapping the hope right out of us. Still, the question remains, can love last forever?
Elements of the fairytale experience can, and should, be a real part of a lasting, loving relationship. There’s no reason that “forever afters” can’t exist, and in fact, they should exist with the partner you call your spouse. True love is a decision of the will. It’s a choice based on many factors, including that “in love” feeling you have for your spouse. Such a feeling can be built upon with tenderness, romantic gestures, and caring choices all along the way.
Can love last forever? Yes, indeed it can. Real love is made up of more than just that wonderful feeling that makes your heart go pitter-patter when you first meet. We might call that stage of love infatuation. True love doesn’t begin until two people really get to know each other and from there build a stronger connection, loving rapport, and a lasting commitment. Such a relationship takes work, understanding, compromises, flexibility, forgiveness, good communication and much more. Chemistry is a part of it as well, but even beyond chemistry and the physical attraction, a love that will last forever is based on a strong decision to stay together.
Staying together is a lifetime commitment, but just staying together is not good enough. For true love to last forever, it requires two people to remain open, honest, and to change and grow not just individually, but also as a couple. As changes take place, a successful couple manages to flow with the changes, and love each other through them all. So, can love last forever? Truly, there’s no reason for love to ever end!