First Step to Happily Ever After
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Most people join a website like CatholicMatch to meet their spouse and reach happily-ever-after. Now before you can venture down the pathway to love, you must first establish a firm foundation. This foundation that a speak of is self-esteem and confidence.
To discover whether you are already firm in this foundation, ask: Do you love yourself? Do you see yourself as a gift to give to someone? Do you focus on your good qualities and see yourself as worthy of dating? If you don’t view yourself as anything special, how are others going to? Thus, it is vital that you see the true value that you possess. It is important to see yourself the way God sees you.
We can come to understand how God sees each and everyone of us, by looking at who God is.
Did you know that the visible world around us teaches something about God? We can actually come to know God through the things He has made. For example, a mountain top view or a dazzling sunset reveal in a small way that God is beautiful. A tornado or a tsunami gives us a small glimpse of God’s power. The sky, the ocean, or the vast universe each provide an idea of how big God is. Wind is real and yet invisible, just like God. This reveals something of the mystery of God. In a sense, God left His fingerprints on His creation so we can come to know who He is.
But, who is God in His essence, and how is that revealed? The Bible teaches us that God is love (1 John 4:8). Love is the essence of God, and Pope John Paul II further teaches us that God's love is revealed through the human body. Think about that. God reveals who He is through us, through our bodies. In other words, we can show God to others. That’s awesome!
Every time you embrace someone who is sad, you are showing God’s love to them with your body. In helping an old lady across the street, you are using your body to show the love of God. Our bodies were designed to be a sign of who God is, so, no matter what kind of body you possess, (whether you love it or hate it), you have the power and ability to show God’s love to others.
Remember, you are unique. God made you unrepeatable. After He made you, He broke the mold. He has blessed you with gifts and talents in a way that is unique to you. Only you have your smile, your laugh, your sense of humor; only you hug the way you do and care the way you do. There is only one of you and you were made for a valuable purpose.
God has also ordained it so that you are capable of perfection in every area. You can and will become the perfect person, even if that is in heaven.
Remember, you are a son or daughter of God. This makes you a prince or princess of the Heavenly King. That is who you are! That is your destiny. This is your ineffable value.
Pope John Paul II teaches that seeing this value in yourself and others is the essence and foundation of love! It’s the very first and necessary step to happily-ever-after. If you understand this first principle, you will always treat others as a prince or princess of the Most High, and you will not date, nor entertain dating, anyone who won’t treat you in the exact same way.
Editor's Note: This is the first article of a series called: The Pathway to Love: How to reach happily-ever-after.
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