When the World Fell Silent

by Donna Jones Alward

I was so tired of being told how a woman should act. That my identity needed to be tied up in being someone’s wife or someone’s mother, as if those were a woman’s only contributions of value.

I’d thought love meant settling and perhaps even boredom, but the reality was so different. It was kindness and patience and steadfastness. It was knowing what the other person needed and doing it with a glad heart, not for any sort of reward other than love itself.

“I thought I understood what love was, but now I know what it’s not. It’s not being swept off my feet and romanced, not about being reckless. It’s about being with someone who sees you at your worst and loves you anyway. Who knows what you need and gives it unreservedly.”