Growing up, I always thought I'd only find that one true love. The type of love that was just like the love experienced in fairy tales. When I got older, I quickly squashed that notion. Many of us are not lucky to find that one love that we're meant to spend forever with right off the bat. I strongly believe for those of us that it takes a few different kinds of love to reach that point, it's because God knows we need a little working on first.

The first type of love is the young love. This one can come in the form of your high school sweetheart. It's so exciting, and the two of you will spend years together because you both think you have it figured out. This person is the one. They have to be, right? Wrong. You see, in that relationship, you end up realizing that you're only staying with that person because you're used to them. They've become your schedule, and now that you've graduated high school and got out into the real world, you realize you no longer need them. They taught you so many lessons, but it was time to walk away.

The second type of love that you'll experience is the powerful, crazy, and exceptional love. This love will quite literally sweep you off your feet. Everything about this person is perfect. They make you feel a happiness that you've never felt before, and you will fall so head over heels in love with this person in such a short amount of time.

Pretty soon, you start to see yourself married to this person, and then you start to realize that you just might actually have found the one. Throughout the relationship though things start getting tough. You realize there are some things that you can't compromise on, and it starts to drive you apart. This love is so intense, that it drives the two of you crazy. You learn even more lessons from this relationship. You learn the things that you should never compromise for anyone, such as your faith and your beliefs. This relationship was never meant to last, but it was meant to teach.

The third type of love is the mature love. This love comes unexpectedly. When you meet this person, you both lay it down that you're not there to play games.

As you get to know this person, you realize that all the things you thought were important before were just a fraction of what you found in this person. You fall in love with this person for who they are, and not just what they do for you. It doesn't take long until you're thinking about this person as your future spouse, but this time it's different.

You're not thinking about how fun it would be to play house and raise a little family. You're not thinking about your dream wedding. You're not thinking about all the little fantasies that you had played out in your head before. This time, you're thinking about how the two of you will work together to start saving for your future. You're discussing your plans for graduation, and they're seriously pushing you to finish. You're real seriously thinking about your future, with this person, and what town you'll live in and work.

This love is no longer the fairy tale love, this love is the one that you can see past the excitement and into the real tough life decisions that you'll make together. This is the love that you realize has the same future plans that you've always had, and you don't have to compromise because they would never ask you to give up your dream. They will push you to pursue it. This is the love that will grow you. This is the love that will support you. This is the love that you've been praying for.