Patience, strength and perseverance are not the first three qualities I think about when someone mentions the word "love." But according to Kristina, the 17th century Queen of Sweden, "These are the three blessed virtues that are found in true love: patience, strength, perseverance."
Although I suppose they may be three qualities which are required to have unconditional love for someone. Because all of us have faults, all of us have shortcomings, all of us will disappoint those who love us at some point in our lives.
So we will need patience in our true love for our beloved, patience when they don't do what we think they should, patience when what they do or say disappoints us, patience when they are in a bad place and unable to respond to us. And also patience with ourselves, so that we are prepared to sit alongside them without expectation.
We will need strength in our true love for our beloved, because a weak love is not true love. We need to be strong and convicted in our love for the beloved. And also strong to hold them up, or to pick them up when they fall.
We will need perseverance in our true love for our beloved, because *every* relationship (whether it is between spouses, siblings or parents & children) goes through bad patches (one time I'm not afraid to generalise!). We need to hang on to our love for our beloved to see us through these bad patches. And we need to persevere in our love, and not give up when things aren't good. (Which is not to say that we should stay in an abusive relationship - far from it. Just that when we feel a little bit meh, we should hang on to our love for the beloved.)
And I find it consoling to remember that God's love for us is patient, strong and persevering.
What three qualities do you think are the "three blessed virtues that are found in true love"?
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