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Longing for Love
by Jaci Velasquez
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This is Jaci's last "One More Thing" for Campus Life. We thank her for her wise and wonderful words on this page for the last two years. And we now look forward to hearing from Jennifer Knapp, who starts writing this column in our next issue.
Sometimes it seems like everyone I know is searching for true love. And I admit I wouldn't mind finding true love myself. Who can blame us? It feels great to have someone pay attention to you, care about you and hold you tenderly. But love and romance can really fool us sometimes. They can lead us into thinking things about ourselves that just aren't true.
I have a friend who has this deep need for attention from the opposite sex. If she doesn't have a boyfriend, she feels ugly and worthless. The thing is, she's a great and beautiful person. But for whatever reason, if there's not a guy in her life, she can't believe good things about herself.
Now we all know that boyfriends are just people. They'll make mistakes, they'll let you down. They won't always be as sensitive as you want them to be. So as long as my friend looks to her boyfriend for happiness, she's going to be disappointed.
I really can't be too hard on my friend, though. There are times when I've also wanted romantic love to fulfill all my needs and make me feel special. But it's just not fair for me to expect so much of another human being.
It's taken me a long time to realize God's love is the only kind of love that will never disappoint me. God's love, and God's love alone, allows me to see my real value, worth and beauty. And when I learn to love myself as God loves me, I will then be better prepared to love others. And this includes that special guy I hope will one day come into my life.
It's funny. When you fall in love or have a big crush on somebody, it's like you can't think of anything else. Your whole world—everything you think and feel—revolves around that person. And sometimes it's that feeling we want more than anything else. But if you think about it, that's how it felt when you first met Jesus. He became the love of your soul!
Every once in awhile, we need to stop and think about how it felt when we first fell in love with God. But that's not enough. We also need to keep this love alive and growing by talking to God, turning to him with all of our needs, and showing our love for him by the way we live. When this begins to happen, everything else will fall into place—including our desire for romance.