I guess, honestly @corina, it depends on the level of love the couple has. If it's soulmate level, everything will be ok. I think it's important to understand that for people in these situations.
Even though I've heard people say it a thousand times, friends, family, television, movies, books... If it's meant to be, it's going to be. That's so crazy, to understand (through my life experiences) that this is so true. It really is. Now, that doesn't mean the two lover should ignore love for they believe it will be no matter what - it still requires understanding and trust, like you're writing about. More so, I think the understanding of passion is also very important. Those fights? Long distance ones... Well... Fighting is passion too. Just keep it civil I guess.
Also like you're saying, look forward and to the future. If you can get through it, the hard parts, the harder it will be to split apart :)
Securing love takes time and effort, and, unfortunately, it takes pain.
Also, we must be careful not to get too deep into the Psychology of love. You can easily boil it all down to the pituitary gland and oxycontin. SAD SAD understanding of love. Psychology of love destroys the divinity of it. Psychology can't explain what some believe as well; soulmates.
Psychology still can't explain everything. There are still a lot of things down to 'magic' and some part of me hopes they remain mysterious.
Me too :) I hope it remains mysterious. Good point.
Very well put! And yes some relationships are meant to be and they will survive any hardship.