Seasons of Love

 "How do you measure a year in the life? How about love? ... Measure in love."

- Lyrics from "Seasons of Love" from Rent

"Seasons of Love" is the opening number in the hit Broadway show, Rent... and whether you like the show or not, those lyrics hold a lot of power. They state that time is only numbers; love is the only solid measurement of a lifetime. As we go through life, we pass through various "seasons" of love, if you will. My friend, Jessie over at I'm a Wife Now? did a post awhile back about various seasons of relationships... check it out. But I'm not focusing on just one relationship here. I'm referring to, as we grow up, how we find love and lose love, strengthen love and weaken love, and believe in love and doubt it. It's truly a bitter-sweet thing and pertains to all relationships in our lives: romantic, friendships, professional... you get the picture. Working at a salon with almost all women allows me to see these various seasons pass and it's really a remarkable thing.

There is the recently single girl, who is trying to start life over with a new apartment and new friendships.

There is the reformed girl in her first committed relationship ever, working toward keeping it strong for the first time.

There is the newly-engaged girl, who is planning both a wedding, new home, and life with the man of her dreams.

We have the newlywed girl, who is still on Cloud 9, unable to believe that her wedding day is finally over.

There is the girl who just gave birth to her first child.

There is the woman who has been married for about 30 years, who loves her husband as much now as she did on her wedding day.

There is the divorced woman, who is finally ready to love again, and is searching for a great new love.

And these are just some of the great types of relationships I get to learn about on a daily basis. These are strong, smart, talented, beautiful women and I find it fascinating that they can all come together, being in such different seasons of their lives and relationships, yet all be so HAPPY. It just goes to show you that there is no "normal" and whether you're single, dating, engaged, married, or divorced, there IS happiness out there. There IS good to be taken from every season of love and there IS always the possibility of change.

When we lack a relationship, however, we do not lack love. Growing up, I found that when a dating relationship ended, it strengthened the other relationships in my life. Turning to family and friends for support helped fill that perceived void. God gave us more than one type of love for that very reason: so that we NEVER have to be truly alone. And as they say, "sometimes good things fall apart, so that better things can come together". Just like a fire burns down a forest, it sparks the beginning of new sprouts to grow from much healthier soil. We learn from the destruction of one relationship and grow stronger each time from the lessons we learned. My point being, like the cycle of the seasons, love comes in cycles to and there is ALWAYS more coming your way. To tie this to my beginning quote, the more you love, the more you live, and whether you accomplish great things in your life or live it to a minimum, if you can look back and say that you were loved, you've lived a pretty good life.

So what about you?? What season are you in?? Who do YOU love today?? Hope this finds you all happy, healthy, and of course, loved.

Ta for now!
P!