I’ve been fielding questions about spiritual aging over at FB Live and old friend Sharon recently asked: “In long-term marriages, how do you keep the spark alive?”
When I describe my husband’s and my 50 plus year relationship, I tend to use words like soul mate or beloved.
Then I remembered a favorite story of mine that puts the desire for a spark into a larger context—something I can get behind and that pertains to everything, including long-term marriage. Here it is.
“Did you hear? There’s an opening in heaven. God needs an archangel whose sole responsibility is to stand to the right of the throne and say ‘holy, holy, holy’ three times.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“The archangels love God so much, none can make it all the way through even one holy before their heart alights and they go up in flames.”
Fulfill your capacity to love, and over time, your heart grows so large, it can no longer contain itself. These are the moments that catch you by surprise where you find yourself embracing the world in a state of ecstasy, tears of joy suddenly rolling down your cheeks.
This is what I wish for you this Valentine’s Day—to remember that aging is not a problem to be solved, but rather holds the potential to be a mystical experience. Well done, old friend.
