Not Love Struck All the Time

When we speak of love, we often describe it with all the giddy and happy details. However, it is not all about chocolate, roses, candlelight dinners, etc. Love is not as simple as that. It has 3 stages - romance, disillusionment and true love.

The love story of Mike and Tintin is a perfect example.

Mike was initially attracted to Tintin because of her features. Dealing with her on a regular basis exposed him to her other qualities, the stuff his dreams were made of. He had finally found a pretty girl with the sanctity of a nun. On the other hand, Tintin was not attracted to Mike physically but felt his presence steadying. She felt safe with him and loved him more as he became part of her family. Thirty six months later, they were officially a couple and thinking about marriage.

Although they discovered differences as their relationship progressed, the biggest test was when Mike was found to have a critical heart condition just when they were planning to get married. This should have been enough to scare any bride but Tintin by then was love struck. She stood by Mike despite some misgivings.

They married, had a child, succeeded individually but their bliss was rocked by Mike's need to undergo open heart surgery. This was a difficult time for both of them. A year later, barely recovered from the bypass financially and emotionally, Mike went under the knife again, this time for kidney transplant.

As a physician, I knew the difficulties a patient and his family experiences in the course of an illness. As a close friend, I saw with my own eyes how these changes made them more mature.

In the few years that they've been a couple, Mike and Tintin had to endure more crises than most couples normally undergo in the course of marriage. Their standing side by side is a testament to true love.

He said: And so, here we are, making ourselves more available in the work of fostering God's life and love in the world - be it in sharing among poor couples in an urban parish, or a community of religious priests and seminarians in Tagaytay or a forum for teenagers in Marikina, or offering advice and support to other kidney patients and their families. Genuine happiness in a relationship is not about gazing lovingly on each other but in looking out into the world together, and in healing others we truly heal ourselves. In that do we truly find each other.

She said: After his heart bypass, there were far more difficulties and new challenges but we continued to trudge on toward the same direction - constantly finding ourselves going through cycles of romance and disillusionment. It is only God's grace and the love that always wills the good of the other which give me the assurance that Mike and I will be able to live through more challenges that will come our way.

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Find out more about their love story in I've Been Dating...Now What? A joint project of Mike H. Asis, PhD and Maribel Sison Dionisio, MA, the book is a guide for college students and young professionals on the subjects of dating, relationships and marriage. The book is available in National Bookstore.

This post is my entry to About My Recovery's Love Struck Writing Contest.

mike and tintin, love struck writing contest, about my recovery, i've been dating...now what?

Stationary bike x 35 minutes x 150 calories