When I had last spoken to Arlene, she was peaceful and happy with her life, her husband, and everything else she could think of. When I asked her how she was doing today, she said, “I don’t know. I felt loved before, but it just went away.”
“Love doesn’t just go away,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“Love is eternal. Love is everywhere. If we don’t feel it, that means that we let go of it. We caused that. Love doesn’t ‘go away.’”
“So how can I not let go of it?”
“Can you remember some times when you HAVE felt loved and happy?”
“Yes.”
“On those occasions, what thoughts were you having? What did you know to be true?”
“I remembered that you love me. And God loves me. And if I have that, everything will be all right.”
“Yep, I’ve been with you when you felt like that, and when you remembered those truths. So what happens when you’re NOT feeling loved and happy? Does my love for you go away? Does God cease to exist or to love you?”
“No, probably not.”
“No, the truth remains true. I still love you. God loves you. If a time comes where you’re not happy, it could only be because you forgot the truth for a time. And forgetting isn’t an accident. You don’t forget that 2 + 2 = 4 because you always CHOOSE to remember it. You forget that you’re loved because you don’t make a conscious CHOICE to REMEMBER.”
The truth remains true, no matter what we do. But the truth is useless to us unless we CHOOSE to remember it. And if we choose to remember the truth about love, we will be happy. It won’t just “go away.”
