Believing in true love

Today, as I celebrate and thank God for the wonderful gift of life, I look back and see my journey with its ups and downs. There have been unpleasant experiences, difficult episodes and long periods of doubt and darkness. When they happened I just wanted them to come to an end. I think nobody wants to suffer. Every person wants to cut short the difficult part. No one would want to stay for long in an uncertain period of waiting. But somehow, as I look back, I know that I have tried to face them. I did not escape them. I have paid them my due. And little by little the pain eased. It took time but finally, the dawn has come.
I can truly say with Saint Paul that "for those who love God everything works together unto good". What is paradoxical is, I really had to experience with my own flesh this truth in order to make it my own personal truth.
Why do we need to suffer? Why do we have to pass through the crucible of solitude, of defeat, of betrayal, of despair? Is there no other way to grow except through the way of the cross? Perhaps. But what I know is, all men and women have to pass through the narrow door, so that in the process of pruning and purification we may come to the truth that really matters: we are loved in a unique and personal way.
When we come to terms with our imperfections and shadows, we can either wallow in despair or choose to cling to Someone and believe that we are loved just as we are, no ifs nor buts.
I choose to believe in that Love.