Love and Marriage

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Our prayers have been for our YSAs - many of whom are on their way right now to Sweden, a four-hour drive from here.  They will stay in dormitories I think and be involved in activities all day tomorrow, then a dance, and Church meetings on Sunday.  They will probably get home Sunday night in time to get a good night's sleep before work/school on Monday.  Most of them will show up for Family Home Evening on Monday evening.

This is one of the three biggest gatherings of the year.  The Valentine's activity is always in Sweden, then a Golden Days activity always in Copenhagen in September.  Sometime in the middle of summer is Festinord...which is the most well-attended, and it rotates from Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.  This year it will be in Finland, and we will go along.

You must know that the purpose of these gatherings is not just fun, not just spiritual feasting, but to meet other people with similar beliefs and values....in other words, to find a wife or husband!  We know a few couples who met each other at such an activity.  These get-togethers are a good thing.

I often look at these dynamic young adults and think, "He/she will be so much more settled when married....he/she needs to find a companion!"

I know the YSAs at our center enjoy each others' company and seem to have genuine affection for each other, but - they tell me - looking at each other as possible marriage partners is like looking at your sibling.  And who doesn't want a little romance? ..especially if you are twenty-something and thinking it is about time to marry.

Ah romance.  SK told the story of how we met to some of the YSAs last night.  He is animated when he tells it, and I don't know how many times he (or I) have told that story.  They seemed to enjoy him telling it.  I remember how exciting it was to fall in love.  What a twenty-something doesn't realize is that it happens over and over again throughout your life.

We can often get caught up in the busyness of life and lead parallel lives for a time.  Then for whatever reason, we are reminded of what it was that attracted us, and we begin to fall in love - all over again, usually with some degree of calm!

SK found an excuse to leave this morning and came back with a valentine - of the chocolate variety.  I was quite disarmed.  So...even people with gray and white hair get excited about Valentine's Day!

We have spent time today walking, studying Danish (for The Test as well as our Danish class), working on lessons, cleaning, laundry and planning our week ahead.  Most weekdays, we leave home by 11, and are often not home again until 11 p.m. and sometimes much later, so this was a bonus day. Our YSAs would think it was a very boring Valentine's Day, but it has been splendid for me.    

Warning to all men:  This necklace is not a good Valentine's gift.  I thought we had left all those ugly little critters behind in Arizona!