By the time I graduated from college, the phrase, “I love you” no longer meant anything. The words became cheap, and that made me sad. I made a vow to myself that the next time I would say those words, it would be to the man I was going to marry.
Thus began a great romance. Not between myself and yet another guy, but between myself and the Lord. I began to “date” Jesus. Does that sound strange? It shouldn’t. The bible calls the church (that would you and me) his “bride.” And what is more romantic than being at a wedding and watching the groom’s face when his bride enters and begins to walk toward her love? Picture it!! There is Jesus, his face beaming, full of admiration as you are approaching him. The thought gets me all teary eyed and so excited that I want to jump up and down and run to him and be embraced in his arms.
During this romance I would imagine the qualities that I desired in my future husband: Bold, strong, confident, kind, gentle. Jesus is all of these things. And I would think about things I would want my spouse to do for me. I wanted him to sing me songs. And I would notice as I was walking into a building a bird chirping in the tree, and I thought, “Wow, Jesus just sang me a song!” And I wanted him to bring me flowers. And I began noticing the most beautiful wild flowers, and I thought, “Thank you Jesus for bringing me flowers!” And I wanted him to listen to me, to hear all my hopes and dreams and not judge me for them. And I began to share my deepest thoughts with Jesus and I felt total acceptance.
I truly fell in love with Jesus. When I think back to that time, it was full of sweetness and tenderness. Before that time, I had settled. I had believed the lie that I was not good enough to be with a good man. But then…Then I chose to believe the truth. And the truth was, if Jesus (the truly perfect man) wanted me and was willing to die for me, then I am good enough to be treated well and loved by a good man on earth.
A godly man will be bold in his pursuit of a godly lady. He will stand up for her. He will respect her. He will desire to protect her heart before having her body. And this godly lady did get pursued by a godly man. And he did sing her songs and bring her flowers. And he did listen to her deepest hopes and fears and loved her for them. And even though this life has had it’s shares of trials and difficult times, there is no one I would rather do life with.
The truth is: I was worth pursuing. And here is the truth that remains to stand strong: I am still worth pursuing. Jesus still pursues me. I am still desirable. I am still beautiful. I continue to share my heart with Him. I continue to lean on Him. Goodness knows, I wouldn’t be able to stand sometimes if I didn’t. And I’m still worth being pursued by my husband. The romance continues regardless of jobs, children, mortgages, or illness.
Dear momma, you are worth pursuing, you are desirable, you are beautiful. And if you find yourself in a loveless marriage, please know that Jesus will always find you to be lovely. It’s never too late to begin your own beautiful romance.
xoxo
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