Real Love
Like most young women, I was excited about my upcoming nuptials. My mother and I were anxious to see my wedding dress completed. I was the oldest child of six. My father was desperate for a son but wound up with daughters, so needless to say, he didn’t have a whole lot to do with us.
We all knew he loved us, but he had a funny way of showing it if he showed it at all. Perhaps that’s where my warped view of love and sex started. He loved my mother but wasn’t very affectionate with her, at least in front of us. To us girls, the only way we saw that he cared was by working very hard to provide for us. He was a fisherman. We offered to work with him, but he said it was no place for a woman. I think this is one reason he had always held out hope for a son.
My dress was now complete and just in time, too. My wedding was a week away. I met my husband down at the docks when I would go down there to meet my father. Every once in a while, he would allow me to help him bring his catch home. My fiancé was a tall, young, strapping man. It was definitely love at first sight. The first time he looked at me, a tingling sensation filled my entire body. We both just stood there, feeling awkward, but it was like we didn’t care. I think my father noticed us looking at each other as well because he called out for me twice, and finally, on the third time, I responded. That evening, on the way back to the house, my father told me his name and said he thought he was an okay guy because he was a good, hard worker.
As the days went on, I would go down to the docks more and more. I would take every opportunity to get to talk to him. Eventually, my father invited him over for dinner. Okay, I actually think this was my mother’s idea. No matter who thought of it, I liked it. I had high hopes he would not just be a good provider but a good man.
The wedding and the festivities afterward went well. That night, we moved into our modest home together. Of course, we consummated the marriage. It was so strange being away from my family. The next several weeks went alright, but how did I really know? From the kind of interaction I had seen between my mother and father, I really didn’t know what to expect. I started out doing everything I had seen my mother do. All of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and everything else I knew to do. I tried so hard to please him. I prepared all of his favorite meals. Yet it seems I couldn’t please him. I knew he cared about me, but his touch was cold. It was as if his heart was having trouble opening up toward me. I don’t know, but I began feeling as if, to him, I was just a good-looking maid.
Perhaps he had picked up on the relationship between my mother and father and realized that I had been brought up to know my role in the home, which was to take care of the man. This is true I had, but…but I wanted more. I didn’t just want a roof over my head, food, and a new outfit every once in a while, but I wanted that as well as deep, passionate love and romance. Was that wrong? I don’t think so. Days turned into months, and I started to accept this was my life. It wasn’t bad, but I wanted more.
Then, one day, while I was shopping for our dinner, I bumped into a man and accidentally knocked his shopping bag out of his hand. I was so embarrassed. I quickly bent over and started picking what he had already purchased that morning. He just stood there, and before helping me, he laughed at my reaction to the situation. He took my hand and helped me back up after we had finished picking everything up. That’s when I saw his face. “Wow”, I thought to myself. And what was this feeling now flooding my heart as he touched my hand? I was instantly swept away with emotions. Why did he touch me? And in public? He had to have known I was a married woman. There was definitely something very different about this man.
What was his name? Where was he from? Was he married? I wanted to know everything about him there was to know. I started apologizing, but before I could even finish, he told me not to worry about it. Wow. This man is so kind, I thought. I didn’t know what to say to him, so I commented on what he had purchased. It was a basket, some fruit to go in the basket, I presumed, and some candles. He told me that he was on his way home from doing business there, and he stopped at the market to pick up some things for his wife. Okay. He’s married, and he’s not from here, I noted to myself. “So, where are you from?” I asked. “Just a couple of towns over,” he replied. I knew as soon as I asked it was wrong, but it was too late to pull the words out of the air that asked him how often does he go through my town and when would be his next visit. I couldn’t believe how forward I was. I had never been so bold in all of my life, especially with a man! He said he would be coming through town in a couple of weeks.
After saying goodbye, I finished my shopping and headed home. As I cooked our meal, I must have been on autopilot because all I could think of was this man. This man was so smooth in his words and his touch when he helped me get back up from trying to pick up his belongings. I allowed myself the liberty of fantasizing about him and being with him. I would think his romance is equally as smooth. I wondered if this was the kind of man that could make me happy.
The two weeks until his return dragged on. Each day felt as though it was forty-eight hours long. I tried to hide my excitement as the day got closer, but I’m really not sure if I concealed it completely. I tried my best to keep to the routine. I certainly didn’t want to tip my husband off that I was even thinking about another man, but I was. All the time.
The day had arrived that he had said he would be back in town. I put on my best dress and just a little perfume. As I was getting ready, I wondered if he had been thinking of me as much as I had been thinking of him. I got to the marketplace early. One because I was so excited, and two because I didn’t want to miss him. I waited for what felt like an eternity until I caught a glimpse of him. At one point, I was afraid I had remembered his face wrong, but then, when I saw him, I knew I had gotten every detail right.
He came over to where I was pretending to be shopping. We were both nervous when we greeted each other. He told me he wasn’t sure I would even show up. Then he informed me he couldn’t stop thinking about me. About the way I wore my hair. My smile. My soft blue eyes and how soothing my voice was. Funny. Things my husband had never mentioned, but a stranger noticed. These words made my heart flutter. We decided it would be better if we continued talking in a less busy place.
We walked a ways from the market. Soon, we found a quiet place near a little stream. We talked, but the tone of our conversation was flirty. I thought my husband and I didn’t speak to each other like this, but I really didn’t want to think about my husband. We laughed a lot. I enjoyed the time, and I enjoyed his company. The time flew by, and I knew I had to get home and get dinner going, at least before my husband got home and suspected anything. I told my new friend I had to go. He quickly looked around and didn’t think he saw anyone watching us, so he quickly leaned in and kissed me, but I think someone did see us kiss. I couldn’t prove it. It was just a feeling. We agreed to meet the following week at the same spot.
It was a struggle to get through that next week. Especially thinking about him and not giving it away, as my mind was so distracted. I don’t think my husband suspected anything. One of the big problems, though, was that I kept comparing my new love interest to my husband. Saying things like, “I bet the other guy doesn’t do that at his house,” but the truth of the matter is that I really didn’t know.
On the day of our meeting, I bathed after my husband had gone off to work. I put some perfume on as well, but only a little. I went ahead and fixed a dinner so I wouldn’t be distracted by the list of things I had to do at home. I decided to leave a little early. I didn’t want to be late for sure, but another reason I left early was my heart was burning with excitement, and sitting around the house waiting seemed to make it worse. My heart already felt as if it was going to jump right out of my chest!
I got to the quiet spot. This helped me relax, but only a little. The sound of the little stream seemed to be playing a love song. Then, before I knew it, he was there. He looked really nice. We talked for a bit, then he carefully looked around, and after seeing no one, he kissed me. The touch of his lips on mine felt like cream, for his kiss was soft. I was experiencing so many emotions all at one time. It was like I was several people living several lives all at the same time. I was a young girl being courted. A young wife cheating on her husband, but ultimately, I was a woman being romanced. I kissed him back. I began to feel he wanted more. He suggested we go to his room in the inn. I was scared. I was excited. I was curious, so I followed him.
When we got to the inn, I let him go first. Then, after waiting nervously and thinking everyone knew what I was about to do, I went to his room. Once inside, he handed me a glass of wine. I drank but kept my eyes on him. He had already closed the curtains. Now, he was turning back the covers of the bed. I noticed a fire in my gut. I started questioning myself. How did I get here? I realized I had succumbed to his flattery, to his compliments. I thought about my husband and knew the right thing to do at that moment was to leave, but I didn’t.
He sensed my hesitation and came over to stand behind me. His strong but gentle arms reached around me, and he began to caress my chest softly. I turned to face him and started kissing him feverishly. He then guided me to his bed. We both disrobed as we got into bed. I felt so scared to go through with this, but I wanted to know what it was like to make love to that kind of man.
We proceeded in the act of love when, all of a sudden, a group of men came bursting into the room as if this man was trying to kill me. To my surprise, they grabbed me. Somehow, I managed to grab and pull one of the bed covers with me. I got the bed cover wrapped around me just as I was dragged out into the street. It was all happening so fast! One moment, I was in eternal bliss, and the next, I was in a courtroom. The men who barged in stood me up in front of this man who was in town. They called him rabbi, but later, I learned his name was Jesus. They told Jesus I had just been caught in the act of committing adultery. My mind was racing as I thought to myself, who knew where we were and what we were doing? We were so careful! Oh no! What will my husband say and do to me? Will he want a divorce?
I looked up at Jesus as he tried to silence the crowd that had gathered. The men were hurling questions at him like, “Shouldn’t she be stoned?” I found it funny at the moment that the man I was standing in front of was called a rabbi, but they were telling him what Jewish law said. And by the way, I thought, what about the man I was with? Where is he at this moment? Shouldn’t he be standing here right beside me? He is just as guilty as I am!
The crowd kept yelling, “Do something!” “We can’t have this going on in our town!” “Finish her off with the law!” “We have the right to stone her!” Jesus looked around into the eyes of each man there, and women too. This Jesus, I remember thinking, seemed so different than any other man I had ever met. He stayed calm in the middle of the verbal storm that was going on all around us. I fell to my knees and tried to hide my face. Then he knelt and started writing deeds and acts in the dirt. He wrote things like “cheated on taxes,” “stole from a business partner,” “lied,” “killed a man,” etc. Each time he wrote a word or phrase, he would look up at someone. I began to wonder if he was looking directly at the one he wrote about. While he was writing the words, he said to the crowd, “If you are without sin, then cast the first stone.” Little by little, the men at first, but then most of the women too left. They went on to whatever they were doing before this spectacle took place.
I soon realized it was just this man, Jesus, and me who remained. He stood back up and quickly reached down to help me back to my feet. I couldn’t look at him in the eyes. I was so ashamed. He gently took my chin and lifted my face, so I now had to look at him. He reached over and wiped away my tears. Then he spoke the most beautiful words. He said, “Woman. Where are your accusers?” I quickly began looking all around and found no one left standing with us. All of the stones that had been picked up to punish me for my sins had been dropped. It was just Jesus and me. He then went on to say, “They are not here to condemn you, and neither do I condemn you. Now go and sin no more.” It was at that very moment I felt real love for the very first time in my heart. It was freedom; it was like warm sunshine inside, and it was real. I had finally found the one I named “Real Love.”
When I got home, my husband was there waiting for me. Somehow, he had heard of what had taken place. I didn’t know what he would do or say, but to me, it really didn’t matter. “Real Love” had cast out all my fears. He looked at me and asked, “How could you?” I told him that I didn’t understand it all myself. He started to get angry, and I interrupted him. I told him the story of what had taken place that day. I certainly didn’t leave out the part about Jesus writing in the dirt and making the statement, “Ye without sin.” My husband bowed his head and walked away. I knew he was hurt, but he didn’t say any more about that day. Ever. A couple of weeks went by when I learned that one of my husband’s friend’s wife had seen me and the man down by the stream. She had hid in the bushes and watched us but also listened to us making plans. She was the one who alerted the “religious” ones that day what was taking place. Come to find out, she did this to me for revenge for marrying the very man she had wanted for a long time. She thought when I found out it was her I would be so mad, but one thing I had learned from “Real Love” was he remembers no wrong.
(The actual account can be found in the Bible. John 8:1-11)
If you have never had your own encounter with Jesus Christ, know that you can. He is waiting for you to accept his offer of forgiveness for your sins. With that begins a relationship that brings hope, encouragement, comfort, and guidance with the added bonus of eternal life. Along the way, you can ask for help with anything. Problems in life, relationships, and healing. Having a relationship with Jesus is the best thing you will ever do with your life. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are real. So are heaven and hell. There are no other alternatives. Encounter Jesus and change your life.
Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.