When Sorry Becomes Meaningless

Lately, I find myself spiralling down the tunnel of apologies again. It is one of those thing I dislike and it always happens at times when I feel weak and powerless. I believe that if I did something wrong unintentionally, then maybe a sorry is acceptable but when I do the same thing over and over again, then how much is the same apology worth? When one tries to strecth it, eventually it becomes meaningless.

Oh wretched man am I, I do the things that I do not want to do and the things I should be doing, I am not doing them. How long do I want to give myself this excuse? The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. But is that really the case? Do I even make an effort to try and control myself?

Even though the world thinks that emotions especially love is something which you cannot control, which I certainly agree to a certain extend, but the actions resulting from that emotion is something that can be restraint. Is love insane? Uncontrollable? Or do we try to mask our own selfishness with love and expect the world to agree with us? So what is love? I mean real love. Real love is supposed to be selfless, sacrificial and self-denying. To try our utmost to bring happiness to the one and expect nothing in return.

I am not professing that I am some kind of saint. No, far from it, I am someone who always thinks of returns first and expects unreasonably from another. However, I do not want to be that kind of person anymore. I look at the mirror and the only thing I see is regret. Lord, grant me grace and strength to change for it is only by Your power that I know I will be able to be who You want me to be. It is the desire of my heart to firstly please You. I do not want to someday, apologize to the person I love and she looks at me with eyes full of disbelieve and say what is the point anymore. Your sorrys mean nothing to me.

Freedom and Respect

Someone said if you love something greatly, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours for life.

When it comes to romantic relationships, some individuals become so highly motivated to find someone to love that they begin to violate well known principles of freedom in human interactions. I heard about one young man who was determined to win the affections of a girl who refused to see him. He decided to win her heart through the mail, so he wrote her a love letter every day.

In all, he wrote her more than 700 letters and as a result, she married the postman. Appearing too anxious and too available actually drives other people away rather than attracting them into a committed relationship.

Romantic love is one of those rare human endeavours that succeed the best when it requires the least effort. And remember that respect precedes love, and that relationships are constantly being tested by cautious lovers who like to nibble at the bait before swallowing the hook.

Dr James Dobson