Luxurious Attention

That title got your attention, didn't it? ;)

I've been thinking about how two-sided love is. It isn't just about being loved...which honestly, I think most people focus on.  It's also about loving the other person, having a desire to speak life and truth over them and minister to their heart, not just wait for them to lavish you in luxurious attention. 

Supposedly men have a need to love and women have a need to be loved (at least primarily).  But I think things are perhaps a little out of whack when each person focuses only on one or the other aspect of this.  Some girls want simply to be cherished, and some guys just want a girl to cherish--and sometimes it ends up not mattering so much who it is or how they treat or are treated in return (in no way am I saying this is true of everyone or even most people I know...just a thought). I've prayed for the guy friends I have, who are so very special, that each one will find a girl who appreciates all that they are...who isn't simply enthralled by the interest and love that he shows her.  I personally believe that guys need to be valued too.  

I recall a conversation with a great friend in college our freshman year.  She was telling me about a guy she had a crush on.  She then went on to say that there were five guys on campus who she really respected more than anyone else.  I asked her, "So, is the guy you like one of those five?"  She said he wasn't.  I was surprised by this.  The guys I have liked have always been among the ones I respected the most.  Doesn't it seem like it should be that way?  Hmm.  Thankfully, my friend married someone else, one of the greatest guys on campus.  I'm so glad God knows and orchestrates what is best for us.  Thanks for tuning in to another session of relationship philosophizing with Melody....if you could see into my brain, you'd know it never ends. :P