I vow never to make fun of others as they delight in "new love."
I really appreciated the people who encouraged me and were excited for me when we were "falling in love." I am thankful for those who cheered on all the "foot-popping, birds singing, the world is a beautiful place" feelings associated with "new love."
And, it really irritates me when people--especially younger-than-me-couples who married in their late teens early twenties--"poo-poo" (make fun of) the idea of "new love."
It seems that they equate "new love" with "immature love" that only "young people who don't know any better" experience. Or they even think of new love as being fake.
I guess I can understand that if all the "ooey-gooey," star-gazing love for them happened when they were young and immature that they would assume that the "ooey-gooey," star-gazing love is also immature.
But it's not.
It's a necessary building block for developing a lasting love. You have to "walk on air" before you can walk together on the solid ground of commitment.
New love is exciting. It is delightful. It is fun. But, it is not immature. :)
I like the way Ed Wheat talks about it in The First Years of Forever. He claims both new love (what he calls "belonging love") and "absolute love" "need to be at the heart of a relationship" and that the "two loves merge into one to bless [a couple's] new life together."
Wheat further gives this advice for a "sure formula for a lasting, love-filled marriage: Enjoy the feelings of love and guard them well, but live by the facts of love." Like I said . . . we have to get to experience the excitement of new love first before we can build our lives on commitment and agape love.
And, therefore, new love should not be made fun of or joked about in a way that puts down those that are living it. It is great and wonderful. In fact it is exhilarating! :)
If you have had the privilege of experiencing new love you should count yourself blessed . . . not poo-poo the idea of it.
