When you are ready for love you first learn to love, respect and honor yourself first. Then love proceeds….~Stylicia~
Lately, I have been surrounded by so many people posting through social media about their engagement and marriage journey; it has been contagious. Many people who are posting their wedding bliss are comrades I know personally. I am happy to be surrounded by this thing called love. I believe love is phenomenal when shared with the right person that is compatible for you. However, those that really want to be in love and married always wonder how does someone get to the point of marriage bliss. I have even wondered that myself as a single woman living the life of singlehood. I realized two years ago in order to be loved I first had to be bold enough to love myself. I was compromising my values and beliefs just to have someone in my life. Soon I became sick and tired of falling in love by myself realizing love is a two way street not a one way. I wanted more for my life so I began my authentic journey in 2011, this journey consisted of me dealing with my internal issues and facing the real problem. I was getting in my own way of learning to love myself unconditionally. I was looking for love but love could not find me because I did not love myself. I had to reassess the choices in my love life. The journey of loving myself made me distinguish the difference between love and sex. I craved to be loved and married but I was not mature enough to handle this concept. When you are ready for love you stop compromising your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health just to be loved. Loving yourself forces you to make healthy choices for your life. When you know your worth you are not afraid to be who God created you to be. This journey began to redefined me in many ways. I decided to become celibate, love myself, find my worth and start planning for my future. I needed to learn that being single was not the end of the world. I started to make plans to have a social life and live my life unadulterated. I started to travel more and see life abundantly. I believe in love with my whole being, I believe in the bond between man and woman but I also believe love will be ready for me when I learn to be ready for it. As years are passing by I am starting to conclude that God is preparing me for love. The only way I can prepare for it is by showing God I can handle all the responsibilities that come with loving a man unconditionally. Only God knows if I am ready for love in this season I believe I am ready but until love finds me I will continue to work on me and improve me. Love can sometimes be a battlefield and you have to be prepared for the course ahead. The question I often ask myself am I really up for the challenge of making love work because marriage is a partnership and a fulltime job. I have gotten the itch for love on many occasions but I want to be ready for love so everyday I am in constant preparation by loving myself first.
