Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O, no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error, and upon me proved,
I never writ, not no man ever loved.

William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

I have heard a lot of people talk of basing love on their feelings, which is frankly a dangerous proposition as feelings change like the weather in Nebraska (very quickly for those of you who don’t abide in the Cornhusker state). This sonnet has been a favorite since I heard it quoted on Sense & Sensibility. It reminds me that true love is faithful, that it remains steadfast even when temptation arises. None of us are perfect or immune to the storms of life, but God sets an example of true love for us. All we can do is seek to remain true to His perfect example. Time and time again we fail, and time and time again His grace sets us back on our feet and urges us to love faithfully in response.