The word 'romance,' according to the dictionary, means excitement, adventure, and something extremely real. Ro... — Billy Graham

The word 'romance,' according to the dictionary, means excitement, adventure, and something extremely real. Romance should last a lifetime.

Author: Billy Graham

Insight: There's something we've collectively gotten wrong about romance. We treat it like a phase—the butterflies-in-your-stomach stage that naturally expires, to be replaced by something more "realistic" or "mature." But Graham's point cuts against that assumption. Real romance isn't the opposite of stability; it's actually built into lasting commitment. Think about the couples who still light up around each other after decades. They're not ignoring reality—they're fully inside it. They've learned that everyday life with someone, when you stay curious and present, contains its own genuine adventure. A long marriage isn't romance fading into obligation; it's the discovery that obligation itself becomes a kind of devotion that feels almost electric. The excitement comes from choosing someone repeatedly, from learning new things about them, from showing up even when it's inconvenient. The practical insight here: if your relationship feels like the spark died, you might not need grand gestures or escape fantasies. You might just need to bring back the qualities Graham listed—genuine curiosity, the willingness to be surprised by someone you think you know completely, the recognition that real life with another person is inherently profound. Romance doesn't expire; we just stop paying attention to it.