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The February I Was Not Looking For Love

February is all about love and romance. But back in 1992, I had just gotten out of a relationship and I wanted space to find myself again. Let’s just say I wasn’t looking for love in February that year.

Blog banner graphic with words Not Looking for .... Love by Denise M. Colby

My friends from work asked if I wanted to go to Disneyland for the evening. I was excited to be out with a large group of friends so I could ignore all my problems and forget about the guy who wasn’t right for me. I definitely wasn’t looking for love.

But I knew as soon as this cute guy walked up to our group that I wanted to get to know him more. I always carried my little camera with me (way before cell phones) and heartily suggested we should take a group picture before we went inside. He immediately came and sat down next to me on the bench. (and I do have a picture, somewhere)

My curiousness grew. 

We sat next to each other on rides and talked a lot. Did I mention there were seventeen in our group that night? Yet we kept seeking each other out. Sat next to each other on all the rides. It was a fun night. Except at the end. With both our insecurities rising we each went are separate ways that night and didn’t see each other again for over a month. Didn’t go on our first date until a month after that.

In hindsight, I’d say it was well worth the wait.

disneyland Autopia car disneyland photo with friends the night author Denise Colby met her husband.
I was not the one who hit my future husband! 
But I was sitting in the middle. 
I fell in love with both him and his sense of humor that night.

Who knew I was going to meet my future husband that night. And that we would be celebrating this month, the date we met, 33 years later (and celebrating our 30-year wedding anniversary in April). The old adage ‘love will find you when you are least looking for it’ comes to mind. I definitely was not looking for love.

We still go to Disneyland, sometimes with a group and sometimes by ourselves, and we still sit next to each other as we ride all the rides.

Author Denise Colby with her husband at Disneyland in 2025

Maybe February is truly the month of love after all!

a similar post was first written in 2020 on A Slice of Orange writers blog

Faith, Hope, & Love

Love & Hope, 1 Corinthians 13:7

Heart Clip Art 55

Depending on the moment, certain bible verses can stand out and speak to us in a new way.  As I work on my overall theme for my writing, I know I want to write about hope. Hope in Jesus and hope in our lives. 

I also want to write about love. Jesus’ love and romantic love. I came across a bible verse that jumped out at me with this exact theme. Then I opened my bible to find it and what I read was completely different.    

It took me a minute and then I remembered there are lots of different translations of the bible. I wanted to find the specific one I saw. So I dug a little deeper and of course, Googled it.  Sure enough the version I was looking for was the NLT (New Life Translation). It reads like this:

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.  1 Corinthians 13:7.

I looked a bit and found a few other translations.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres – NIV

Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. – NKJV

I find it interesting the different words that are used to say the same thing and how they speak to us differently at different times. 

I like the idea that in a romantic story a couple who find “true love” have withstood whatever conflict has been thrown at them. They ultimately did not give up on each other and what they have ended up with is something wonderful and special.

I like how this verse can communicate that. 

But after pondering a while on all that, I could see a bigger truth in this statement.

God’s love never gives up

God’s love never loses faith

God’s love is always hopeful

God’s love endures through every circumstance. 

That no matter where you are or where you are going, God loves you. 

Always (NIV version), in Everything (NKJV).  And his love will bear all things. God’s love always protects. God’s love always perseveres. He’s not going to shelter us from things happening.  But his love for us will help us persevere. Through anything.

There’s a peace in that thought.  Something to take root in our hearts.  Because when we are full of HIS Love, then we can love others the way God wants us to.

Personal

Journey with me…..Faith, Hope and Love

Welcome to my author blog.  I’m so excited about this journey God has taken me on.  I’m also very nervous and unsure.  But mostly I’m excited as I feel his presence and know that his hand is leading me every step of the way.

I love to read.  I enjoy a story that inspires me to be a better person.  I love the journey that characters go on from looking at themselves as unlovable to finding someone who loves them for who they are.  And they become a better person because they are loved.  The more I have read the more I have been interested in writing my own stories.  The idea has been burning inside of me for a long time.

As I have taken steps to move this what seems to me impossible dream forward, several times I’ve come across roadblocks that I have since realized I have put up myself.  I consider myself a positive person, however it’s amazing how negative my thoughts can be about how much work it is, I am not good enough and so on.  What’s even more amazing is the people God has put in my path to encourage me and help me push past these roadblocks.  It’s then that I truly see God’s hand in this.  I still don’t know where He is taking me on this journey, but I’m focusing on trusting Him with the whole thing.  And for that I am truly excited.

I’m not sure yet where exactly this journey is going or how long it will take, but I would love for you to come along with me on it if you are interested.  We can learn and grow in this journey of faith, hope and love together.

Blessings,  Denise