{"id":288,"date":"2013-07-23T10:09:05","date_gmt":"2013-07-23T10:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/everydayinspiration\/?p=288"},"modified":"2015-12-02T22:14:42","modified_gmt":"2015-12-02T22:14:42","slug":"the-secret-to-lasting-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/everydayinspiration\/2013\/07\/the-secret-to-lasting-love.html","title":{"rendered":"The Secret to Lasting Love"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s only one secret to lasting love. And here it is: There\u2019s no secret at all.<\/p>\n<p>Like most things in life, anything worth having takes effort, commitment and a dose of faith. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebridgemaker.com\/how-to-love-consciously\/\" target=\"_blank\">Love<\/a> is the same way. Or at least that\u2019s been my experience with love.<\/p>\n<p>Trust me; I\u2019m no expert on love or relationships. But after sharing the last 29 years with Mary Beth, I\u2019m learned a few things.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve learned that what makes love last isn\u2019t shrouded in a secret; it is intentional, deliberate and desired. I\u2019ve learned that love comes from a place of want, not need. And I\u2019ve learned that love isn\u2019t about obligation; it\u2019s about giving and receiving happiness freely.<\/p>\n<p>Somewhere along the way my wife and I found a rhythm that works for us. <strong>So, here\u2019s our rhythm for making love last<\/strong>. You are welcome to join along:<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> is having the courage to look into your partner\u2019s dark, secret places without blinking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> is helping each other with the mundane; not because it\u2019s expected, but because it\u2019s natural.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> is seeing the faults in your partner as a reminder of their beautiful human dignity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> is sharing a sweet kiss every day.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> isn\u2019t about avoiding conflict; it\u2019s about finding the way to win-win.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> is giving grace when requested and forgiveness when needed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> is remaining faithful when the world tempts you.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> is cherishing the small things.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> is investing heartfelt emotion during the most intimate moment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> is taking advantage of the opportunity to express your love by emptying your heart and then watching as your partner fills it back up again.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes love last<\/strong> is willing to give it all away, but holding on to love until the end.<\/p>\n<h5>About <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/everydayinspiration\/author\/cblackwell\" target=\"_blank\">Alex Blackwell<\/a><\/h5>\n<p>Alex Blackwell is a father, husband and writer. He writes about inspiring things at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebridgemaker.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">The BridgeMaker<\/a>.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebridgemaker.com\/welcome-amazing-readers\/\" target=\"_blank\">Web<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebridgemaker.com\/category\/a-simple-path\/\" target=\"_blank\">Simple Paths<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebridgemaker.com\/my-new-ebook-how-to-love-consciously-download-free\/\" target=\"_blank\">How to Love Consciously<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s only one secret to lasting love. And here it is: There\u2019s no secret at all. Like most things in life, anything worth having takes effort, commitment and a dose of faith. Love is the same way. Or at least that\u2019s been my experience with love. Trust me; I\u2019m no expert on love or relationships.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":554,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Secret to Lasting Love - Everyday Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/Love-Family\/Galleries\/The-Secret-to-Lasting-Love.aspx\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Secret to Lasting Love - Everyday Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There\u2019s only one secret to lasting love. And here it is: There\u2019s no secret at all. Like most things in life, anything worth having takes effort, commitment and a dose of faith. Love is the same way. Or at least that\u2019s been my experience with love. Trust me; I\u2019m no expert on love or relationships.&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/Love-Family\/Galleries\/The-Secret-to-Lasting-Love.aspx\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Everyday Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-23T10:09:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-12-02T22:14:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alex Blackwell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Secret to Lasting Love - Everyday Inspiration","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/Love-Family\/Galleries\/The-Secret-to-Lasting-Love.aspx","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Secret to Lasting Love - Everyday Inspiration","og_description":"There\u2019s only one secret to lasting love. 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