Sunday, December 21, 2008

Romantic love at Christmas can hurt but still hope

Yes, the story of Christmas is about love -- how God so loved the world that He gave it his only son, that whoever would believe in Him, would have eternal life.

Christmas, however, also stirs feelings of tbe deep, romantic kind, and songs like Karen Carpenter's "Merry Christmas Darling" can leave the heart and eyes weeping.

But a friend of mine from New York recently reminded me, "always hope" when it comes to love. And so I do. And the movie, "Love Actually", is a testament to that truth. It is a British production revolving around a series of relationships and life's cruelties and rewards.

The cast os headed by Hugh Grant, a single prime minister of England who finds himself falling from a commoner, a woman from the "dodgy" side of London. There is the widower who just lost the love of his life and now he must guide his stepson through his first love at the age of 10. There is the threat of infidelity in a 14-year marriage, and unrequited love.

My favorite relationship is that between a British writer Jamie and his housekeeper, Arelia. They cannot communicate, since he only speak English and she Portuguese. Yet somehow, the universal language of love triumphs.

In your loneliness during this season, you can turn off the radio and avoid the songs of the late great Karen Carpenter. Or you can instead reach out to embrace the world and all its possibilities. And hope.

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