Sunday, August 12, 2007

I Found the Other Half of my Orange!

Last week, I received a happy e-mail of congratulations from a friend of mine who is a member of my church in Spain. She signed off her e-mail saying, que seas muy feliz en compaƱia de tu media naranja--which when translated literally means, "may you be very happy in the company of the other half of your orange". You see, "media naranja" is the Spanish expression for "soul mate". I just love it...the idea that after some (or much) searching, you find that one person whose orange half fits just right with your own.

The very same day that I received that e-mail,
Buttercup called me, and she asked me if I believe in soul mates. (My blog buddy and friend, J, wrote her thoughts about soul mates here). In answer to Buttercup's question, I responded, "I do and I don't."

As a single person, it used to drive me crazy when people would tell me that I would just know when I meet my husband-to-be. It just sounded so mystical--as if the trees would blow and I would hear the wind whisper, "He is the one", and I would never question my feelings because, well, I would just know.


I would say that when eSuitor and I started dating, I felt a chemistry with him right off the bat, but it took time before I was pretty certain that he was the one. It was more a process of getting to know him over time, waiting to see if red flags appeared, being pleasantly surprised when they didn't, working through conflict with him, praying about our relationship, and having an abiding sense of peace about our relationship over an extended period of time. After about four months of dating, we told one another that we thought we had found marriage partners in each other, but we didn't get engaged for another six months. We wanted to go through the four seasons together, to see what issues would surface for us over that time, etc. Eventually, we did know, but it wasn't a mystical sense of just knowing as much as an I really love you and want to marry you and feel peace and God's blessing on our relationship kind of knowing.

I view the idea of soul mates the same way. Is Hubs the one man in the world who I was meant to meet and marry? Was our relationship and marriage ordained from the foundations of the earth? I honestly don't really know. I would love to think so, and sometimes I do think so! I do believe that God knew we would marry from the beginning of time, as He is omniscient, but I don't know if our union was preordained.

What I do know is that Hubs is my soul mate in the sense that when we married, we married each other not just mind and body, but body, mind and soul. Therefore, our souls are truly mated for life, bound by our commitment to each other that we made when we took our vows before God and many witnesses (including Buttercup!). So yes, I am married to my soul mate.

Indeed, I have found the other half of my orange!


Photo found here.

12 comments:

Cari said...

Hello Friend!!

This is your long lost childhood friend Cari Woolf Norz!! Your mom gave my mom your Blog, and she has passed it on.
I am so happy for you! You are glowing in all of your pictures!

Congrats!!
Cari
texastechgirl7@gmail.com

J said...

Wow, that first comment is going to be impossible to beat, so I'll just say that I totally don't believe in a one and only...except that within a few dates with Ted, I felt that he was THE ONE. Funny, huh, how life can make a hypocrite of a person? ;)

I'm thrilled that you have found your other orange half.

Autumn's Mom said...

I believe in soul mates..but I don't think it always is the person you marry. It could be a child or mother or grandmother. Souls that travel together thru the ages.

I love that you found the other half of your orange. :D

ML said...

What a great post! I am so glad you found your soul mate! So many people just settle, but it's so worth it to find the right one for you.

Beenzzz said...

I love thay saying. I am a hopeless romantic and so, I do believe in sould mates. I know D. is mine and I think I knew it from the first moment I saw him. I'm glad that you found your half an orange too! :)

Beenzzz said...

I can't seem to spell today. Sorry about all the typos in my previous comment!

Anonymous said...

I had the "you just know", but even so, it wasn't that easy. We also had to seek the commitment, body mind and soul. That is something that never comes with "love at first sight". :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Tracy!
I love this post, and you've worded how I feel about "soul mates" better than I ever could. Thanks for sharing, and congrats again on your marriage. The wedding was beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Hey Starshine,

This really explains a lot for me. I have been looking for the other half of my APPLE, not orange. Yikes! :) haha

Great post -- kudos to your explanation. I may steam it!

Glad to join the posting world ...

Anonymous said...

Actually -- I'd rather 'steal' your explanation as opposed to 'steam' it. I don't think that would help me at all.

Ginger said...

I don't know if I would use the term "soul mate". But I truly believe it was in God's plan for us to be together. Looking back at all the seeming inconsequential circumstances that brought us together I see His hand at work. I didn't realize he was the "one" at first, but when I did I never looked back.

Buttercup said...

Hmmm, many interesting ideas in that post. I love the idea of finding the other half of your orange. I want that. Love it.

I also love the fact that you see your two souls as mated for life. My view of soul mates has been this idea that two souls, or numerous souls, are cosmicially already joined and they're just waiting for their human bodies to get with the program and realized what's supposed to happen. I realize that sounds quite mystical and as if it's all about destiny.

You said: "I do believe that God knew we would marry from the beginning of time, as He is omniscient, but I don't know if our union was preordained." What's the difference? If God knew you were going to marry, then doesn't that mean it was supposed to happen, and doesn't that mean it was preordained?