So many fictional love stories follow a familiar pattern—and yet we never get tired of hearing it. Boy meets girl. Friendship blossoms into romance. Adversity is overcome, and the couple marries.
And that’s where the story often ends. Of course, real life doesn’t end there. And if the romance and courtship don’t continue long after “I do,” then the love story won’t either, and we may never get to “They lived happily ever after.” The marriage altar, where vows are exchanged and commitments are made, is not the finish line; it’s the starting point. The flowers, the chocolates, the love notes—the same tenderness that brought the couple together is what will keep them together.
Keeping the flame of romantic love burning is as important as kindling it in the first place. Ask any couple who has ever fallen in love—and stayed in love. Ask them about their first look, their first date, their first kiss. They will glory in retelling those moments because they led to a thousand more moments just like them over the years.
The grandchildren of one such devoted couple heard their grandparents’ love story so often that they knew it by heart. They could finish their grandparents’ sentences. They smiled at the funny moments and remembered all the little details that propelled love forward. The grandparents’ aging eyes sparkled with young love as they told their grandchildren about the dance, the invitation, the walk home. One took a risk, the other made a move, and somehow, despite a few mishaps, they came together. Even though the grandchildren sometimes acted bored when their grandparents started telling their love story—again—they couldn’t help but be charmed by it. Maybe what made it so charming was the fact that they knew the story didn’t end there. It was only the beginning of what had become a lifelong love story.
Wherever you are in your love story, make every effort to continue courting the one you love. Never stop being the person who first won his or her love. Do the little things that make your loved one feel special, for those little things are the lifeblood that keeps love alive.
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February 9, 2020
Broadcast Number 4,717
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square
Conductor
Mack Wilberg
Organist
Brian Mathias
Host
Lloyd Newell
Morning Has Broken
Gaelic melody; arr. Mack Wilberg
Press Forward, Saints
Vanja Y. Watkins; arr. Mack Wilberg
Awake the Harp, from The Creation
Franz Joseph Haydn
For the Beauty of the Earth
Conrad Kocher; setting by Michael Burkhardt
There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today
John R. Sweney; arr. Mack Wilberg
It’s a Grand Night for Singing, from State Fair
Richard Rodgers; arr. Arthur Harris
It Is Well with My Soul
Philip P. Bliss; arr. Mack Wilberg