Four Letter Word

It was over four years ago while having brunch on the patio at the Ritz-Carlton in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, when a nice old white woman passed by The Professional's table on her way out. "I hope you two get married," she said with kindness. "You are so much in love!" The Professional and her beau smiled at the woman, and realized to each other that their love was on display even without them being aware of it.

That relationship didn't end up working out. Neither did the next one, or the one after.

It is this breathless, all-encompassing love that The Professional wonders if she'll ever feel again. Is it asking too much to expect that type of love more than once? Does it count if that love ended in hurt--or is it best to extrapolate from it the very best of times & feelings had, leaving the forgettable moments exactly as such: Forgotten.

The Professional doesn't have the answers. However, she remains hopeful. She isn't mad that she was unable to identify the morality issues of person that harmed many people in much worse ways than he did she. She doesn't feel bad that she didn't have the foresight to predict that her last love would strike her down--both with his hand and with his words. Instead, she's happy to be exactly who she is at this brilliant moment in her beautiful life: A woman who has lived, loved, and learned from every single experience both good and bad.

The Professional doesn't yet have her finger on the pulse of the questions she posed above. But she'll be happy to continue to hope, with tepid expectation, that God will indeed bless her with the true love of her life. She can't wait to meet him :-)