We are in the middle of February, the month when we are surrounded by hearts. Back in high school, a student could buy a carnation for their sweetheart to be delivered on Valentine’s Day. I always wanted to receive one, but never did. I suppose like any teenaged girl, the longing for a boyfriend was a huge one. I wrote stories about romance back then, but I admit that I had no personal knowledge to back them up.
In the first few weeks of my freshman year of college, I dated someone and ended up with a broken heart. It wasn’t the last one I’d ever have, but the pain was real. During the breakup, I heard a song called, Dreamer’s Dream, by Pete Carlson. (I tried to add a link here, but it wouldn’t work. You can find it on YouTube and listen to it.) The song speaks of broken dreams and how we can trust God to heal us.
I wish I’d never dated anyone before my husband, but then I might not have known how special he was. The first time he kissed me, my lips tingled. It didn’t take long to fall head over heels in love with him. He was the one I’d been looking for all along, and I’m so thankful for the twenty years I had with him.
I think back on the pain I felt each time the person I thought I was falling in love with turned out to be the wrong one. Without those failed relationships, I might never have known what true love was when I found it in my husband. Garth Brooks’ song, Unanswered Prayers, is definitely true in my life.
Broken hearts are painful at the time they happen, but they make excellent material for writing romance novels. As an author, I like to write about second chances in love. Most of my characters have loved once and lost, before falling in love again.
In my romance novel, The Reluctant Billionaire, Jessica returns home with a broken heart. Her longtime friend Liam is there to help her through it, showing her what it means to be cared for. They find that with God, and true love, broken hearts can be healed.
Carol Underhill 