Love is not always enough. We want it to be, we beg the heavens for it to be, we plead as we are watching it slip away, but it simply is not. There are times that all the love in the world isn't enough to make things work out between two people. There are times that love has nothing to do with the reality of the situations that we face in the real world. It hurts, but it's a fact. Tina Turner hit the nail on the head in her hit song, "What's Love Got To Do With It?". Love will never change another person and love will never take back certain things once they've happened.
This is a lesson that I had to learn the hard way. Being a rather slow learner, I got the lesson not once, but twice. In all honesty, I may be on my third time around this track even now. It hurt so badly both times, but no matter how much I wanted love to make everything turn out all right, it never would. Letting it go took everything in me, but there came a time when I had to admit that my love wasn't enough.
The first time I had to learn was years ago when I was so in love with a man that I was sure it would work out between us. Distance and circumstance pulled us apart twice, but we both kept trying to reconnect over time. It was never the right timing for one or the other of us, as we each went on with our seperate lives when we were apart. I suppose that we both held on to the hope that a day would come that was perfect for both of us and we would run into each other's arms to never let go again. It was true love and I am happy to have experienced it. The last time that I was ready to try again, I looked him up to find an obituary. His death ended the dream that we shared and all that I was left with was the shock in this first realization that love just hadn't been enough.
The second time, I met and married a man that I loved and we shared many years together. After all those years and all that happiness, there was a visit that shattered it all. The visit was the one that took my husband away to be questioned by police in a dozen felonies. He got away with every one with the help of a costly legal team, but I knew he was guilty. I also realized that that was all I knew. I had never even known this man that I thought I loved. All I really was an act that he put on for me and love for an illusion such as this is never enough.
Currently, I love a man that I may no longer be "in love" with, but I certainly still care about and want the best for. Unfortunately, once again, it may not be enough. You see, there is a mental illness that is destroying him and he refuses to get the help that he needs to get well. In order to not let it destroy the rest of the family, there is a chance that I will once again have to admit that my love is not going to be enough. It will hurt and I will cry, but I will know that there was nothing more I could do if that day comes. I will try to love as hard as I can and I hope that this time, it will be different and maybe for just this one time, love will be enough.