The Twilight Zone

I have what may be an unpopular subject to address. I know that most people don't like to read soapbox blogs, and I'll try to avoid the (perhaps not-so) subtle ascent onto mine, but there's something that has been on my mind.
Twilight is a teen phenomenon, we all know, but it has certainly become an across-the-board female pop culture phenomenon as well. I, myself, read the books a couple of years ago, and greatly enjoyed them. I will admit that at first, I was enraptured with the story and well, that has faded with time. I still enjoy the movies, but... eh. What disturbs me is what I'm hearing about people's obsessions with this series, and how it has affected some women's marriages and relationships. This fictional vampire love story is causing divorces!
I started thinking about the feelings I had when reading the books, the excitement, the butterflies, diving headfirst into this all-encompassing love affair. I am concerned with the portrayal of love in our media, and society in general. I believe that women are so drawn to this image because we believe that is what true love looks like. And if we aren't doughy-eyed, burning with love and lust at all times, then aren't we missing something? Maybe what we have isn't true love... maybe we're with the wrong person.
ARRGH! (At the risk of sounding pirate-like, that's my expression of frustration and exasperation)
Admittedly, there were times, a younger, more naive me bought into these lies. You know what I realized? After the butterflies dissipated, I had a choice. I could commit, choose to love, and work on my relationship every day. Or, I could move on and chase the butterflies. Because the butterflies will inevitably be there in the beginning, but just as certainly one day they will fly away. They are fleeting little creatures, beautiful though they are.
We have been inundated with the idea that passion, intensity, insatiable lust and excitement are the hallmark of true love. I am here to say, NO. Love is... well, love is patient, love is kind, love doesn't envy, doesn't boast, isn't proud, it's not rude or self-seeking, not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It doesn't delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Cor. 13)
This passage isn't just about God's love for us, and our love for others, but I believe this encompasses what healthy romantic love is as well. Read it again. What would a marriage look like if these were it's hallmarks?
I can tell you that I know, firsthand, what it feels like to be loved like this. I am so fortunate, blessed, to be married to a man that exemplifies what love really is, and I am learning from him. I feel secure, I feel desired, I feel loved. And, at times I do still experience the butterflies and excitement, but there is so much more than that. It is because of him that a great marriage has just gotten better and better as time goes by (going on 7 years!)...
I guess I'm tired of divorce being more prevalent than lasting marriages. I'm tired of the media drawing a false picture of love, and the ripple effect of discontentment in the hearts of women. Let's see these books and movies for what they are: works of fiction designed to tug at our hearts and entertain us.