“Leap and the net will appear” –John Burroughs. Why I am writing about this right before Valentine’s Day? Loving is a leap of faith. When we love, we often move forward with our gift of love, not knowing for sure if the person will love us back. Yet we do it anyway. We know that we love the person and our gift is extended. I am certainly thinking of romantic love while writing this. How could I not? It is nearly Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day is my parents’ wedding anniversary. My dad is gone, but my mom is still alive. They were so in love. Every year my dad would get my mom roses. He’d get one for each year they were married. By the time they’d been married 30 some years, mom told him to just go with a dozen. “It’s beginning to feel like a funeral home with all those flowers” she’d say with a laugh. They held hands, laughed, danced, talked, dated, and just loved—throughout their marriage.
This Valentine’s Day my hubby and I are apart because he had to go away on business. :-(. But oh am I thankful he has a job. We didn’t get married on (or even near) Valentine’s Day. We’ve been married quite awhile by now–almost 29 years. We dated off and on for 10 years before we got married. We were part of a wonderful group of friends–and I dated a number of his friends, and he mine. Yet we kept coming back together. Over the years we talked—a lot—about everything. We knew each other so very well by the time we got married. Even so, getting married was a leap. The act of marriage is an enormous leap of faith. You are trusting your heart and future to each other. I remember right before we exchanged our vows. We were standing at the front of the church; my bridesmaids were to my left and his groomsmen to my right. I looked towards each of them, as their faces were turned towards us. I was so nervous! As soon as we exchanged our vows, I could hear one of my girlfriends say “oh thank God”. Now THAT was funny. She knew me so well that she knew there were times when I had backed out of making a decision because of fear.
Our friends all prayed that God would give us the courage to make that final leap. Just as John Burroughs said, the net did appear. What net? The net of sustaining love. The net of years together, built one day at a time. The net of friends and relatives that intertwined their lives with ours. The net of God’s gracious love. It holds us up and keeps us together. We bless each other’s life the best we can.
I hope that as I go forward in my life I will remember to leap when I should and know that I will be uplifted and sustained.
Believe Anyway 
Wonderful words. And yes sometimes you have to leap into love and hope for the best. Oh and a good relationship takes work and patience. But it is oh so worth it. I can’t imagine being without my better half.
When you have built the relationship over time on a solid foundation, even though it feels like a risk to make that final leap into marriage, the net is definitely there. But you still feel like it’s a GULP risk! I can’t imagine life without my better half either 🙂
A great testimoney of everlasting love and the ties that bind. Thank you for sharing and Happy Valentine’s Day.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
Thanks Francine! Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Kate! God bless you two!
In His love,
Maria
Thanks so much, Maria. I hope you had a really Happy Valentine’s Day, too. God bless you, too—Kate
Kate, it was our 35th anniversary, so I want to read your post about your parents, who also were married on this day.
Happy anniversary. It is a great day to get married; the whole world celebrates your day, right?
Yes, in a way that’s true!
Now on to your post about your parents,
Bless you!’
Maria
Awesome! Hope you like it and I hope you had a wonderful 35th. congratulations ❤
You know, this also goes for others. Kindness shown to strangers sometimes is repelled. Sometimes children do not want to be hugged. We must show kindness, anyway, regardless of whether it will be returned. Same for hugging children. It just isn’t right to let them grow up unhugged, thinking they do not like hugs, never being in a place where they know they could use a hug. Joy MUST be forwarded, net or no net.
You are so right, Katharine…and by hugging them, creating a place of safety and love, and giving them love, we ARE their net….and they become part of the net, too! You are right that is not right that they grow up hugless.
How really lovely, Kate. I hope that you indeed did have a happy day today, and your mother, too. I love her comment about the flowers accumulating like at a funeral home. What a sense of humor! Blessings, Debra
I did have a happy day today. I got to have a long phone call with her earlier today before I headed out and about town to tutor my students. You are right, my mom has a fabulous sense of humor, and so did dad. Bless your day and night, –kate
This is so wonderful Kate. I wish you and your husband more happy years together. I love it when you said “the net of sustaining love” and “the net of God’s gracious love”. That is so true. Have a lovely day!
It makes me happy to know that you liked it. I wish you and your husband countless happy years. You have a lovely day , too==Gracie
I LOVE your stories–you make them come so alive for me!! God bless you abundantly.
Thanks, Caddo–wow, that is high praise….I never know when I write something if it only makes sense to me or if it will be meaningful to others. So thank you. You are so kind.