P.S. I Love You

What makes a good love story? Chemistry? Romance? Fun and laughter? Probably a mix of all those things together.

I think a good love story has to have some element of truth in it--something that speaks to the viewer/reader about what love in its most perfect form is supposed to be.

This past week, I saw the movie P.S. I Love You starring Hillary Swank (and no, I'm not going to give it all away!). It's about a widow whose deceased husband writes letters for her to find and read after his death (yeah, I know--kind of morbid). As most chick flicks are, it was a bit predictable and kind of sappy--but it definitely had that truth factor going on, so I thought I'd talk a little about it.

What's the truth factor in P.S. I Love You?

Hillary's movie husband was cute and charming (and did I mention he sang, too?!?). But his most attractive quality (and the truth about love from the movie)? He saw her.

He saw Hillary's character in all of her beauty and quirky imperfections--and chose to love her. He saw her better than she saw herself, encouraged her to dream and to live the full life she was meant to live.

(Rabbit trail for other chick flick fans only: You may notice that this is the same "truth factor" about love that's seen in Runaway Bride--you know, where Julia Roberts doesn't even know what kind of eggs she likes and Richard Gere notices and calls her out on it? Or in Bridget Jones when Mark Darcy tells Bridget "I like you just the way you are.")

That sounds nice and all--but what does it have to do with me?

Everything. Okay, maybe not really, but I'll explain ...

Think about how most people love--a career, church or person. Most people see only the good and the beautiful at first. Everything's rosy, polished and going well. And then some of those quirky imperfections pop up--and the "love" they felt seems to disappear.

But think about how God loves us. He sees us as we really are (the unpolished, unairbrushed versions of ourselves), complete with beauty and quirky imperfections--and chooses to love us anyway.

That's pretty amazing. Kind of miraculous, actually.

But ... if God sees all we are and loves us with "no matter what" kind of commitment, if that's what real love is supposed to be, isn't that the way we should love others?

P.S. I love you.

(Translation: I'm trying to see the real you, encourage you to dream and to live the best life you've been designed to live. And I'm definitely not perfect, so I may not be all that amazing at this real love thing. But I'm working on it.)