At one time or another, many of us find ourselves “hooked on the feeling.” Captured by a pervading sense of loss, the longing to recapture the magic of time now gone beckons like the smell of baking bread. The memory of being carried along on a wave of out of control joy makes us yearn for the feeling of falling in love.

    Being “hooked on the feeling” doesn’t mean we have fallen out of love with our partner. Though many confuse it with this, we merely hunger for a once tasted treat now seemingly out of reach. Life turns routine. Marriage and family exert their daily demands. The excitement of first blush romance seems far away. Longing replaces anticipation. We get “hooked on the feeling.”

    When we first marry, we are carried along by the first blush of love’s passion. Everything is new and fresh. With anticipation of each new discovery comes excitement. The feelings of romance feed on this excitement. We are carried away by the feeling of falling in love.

    But new and fresh can be a daily discovery. Early in our marriage, we can’t begin to imagine all the good that God has built into our partner—things like character, strength, depth, sacrifice, generosity, kindness, patience, passion, and faithfulness. These are revealed only when someone shares life’s journey with us. As times and situations change, they master new challenges, overcome difficult hardships, and help us find joy in unexpected places.

    Nothing is more astounding than a person we think we know, demonstrating a tender strength in crisis or a rugged faith in anguish we never knew was there. There is no gift quite as breathtaking as the willingness to risk body, soul, and future to walk down an unknown road with us. There is no love so strong as faithful love—a love proven by shared hardships, incredible joys, and unexpected surprises. More than a box of photographs, this love is a collection of indelible memories shared with the one person who knows us best.

    Sadly, many who are “hooked on the feeling” throw this love away to chase the feeling. After the fling and the fancy, they find they’ve lost the love and are left empty and alone. So when that time comes when you find yourself “hooked on the feeling,” find it with the one you’ve loved before on the journey:

• Do the things that helped you fall in love the first time. Treat them special, go to new places, share your dreams for the future, talk about your plans, and go for quite walks to be alone together.
• Look for something each week to give thanks for in your partner—something new, something fresh, something captivating. It’s there if you’ll only look.
• Do romantic things with your partner—surprise him/her with someting new and different just for fun. Do something they know is not your favorite thing to do, but they love to do.

    Ask God to help you find the feeling of falling in love with the one who has shown they love you for a lifetime. I think you’ll be surprised that you can be “hooked on the feeling” with the one who has been most faithful and familiar over all the years!

“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its passion unyielding as the grave. It burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.” —Song of Songs 8:6-7