It's been about a year since I've posted anything, I guess you can say life got in the way and I got busy. I'm hoping to become more consistent with my blogs in the future and hopefully get back to writing about the things I initially intended to. A lot has happened in the past year. God has been doing some work in my life and if I were to sit and express all the things my heart feels right now it would take days... and I'd probably get pretty emotional. So I'm just going to share a summary of some things I've had on my mind today.
Many of you know I have a daughter. She's not a typical 7 year old by any stretch of the imagination, but she's smart, sensitive, creative, and so full of life. Since her dad and I divorced, she's struggled with some things and it's been a real challenge at times. I pray hard for her and I know she's going to grow up and do awesome things. As a mother of a little girl growing up in a world like we live in I find myself worrying about the temptations and pressures that are out there. I know they exist because I faced them myself. And I hate to admit it, but I made a lot of really bad decisions... well, most of my life. Thankfully I had a supportive family who loved me and prayed for me. By the grace of God I'm in a much better place in life.
One thing I want for my daughter more than anything is to grow up knowing the love of Jesus Christ. It's so easy to get caught up in society's standard of what love is. Even parents feed their little girls lies by reading them fairy tales. I was never a girly girl and I certainly never thought of myself as a princess. I don't ever remember dreaming that one day I'd grow up and be swept off my feet by a prince on a white horse. To this day my "Prince Charming" isn't a prince at all. I don't want some greek god built man in an Ralph Lauren suit making six figures and driving a BMW. I couldn't care less about a big house or fancy vacations. Those things just don't appeal to me. All that stuff is too cliche... it's not real.
So what in the world do I want then? I want LOVE. Here's what the Bible says about love:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ephesians 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
I could go on and on with scripture on love. The Bible tells us about God's love being unconditional, He gives us love and mercy when we least deserve it. Jesus Christ loves us so much He died for us. We are commanded to love everybody, even those who treat us wrong. The Bible also tells us that God, Himself, is love. Love isn't bought with money, earned with a college degree, or found on expensive trips to fancy islands. Love is something we find in and through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We cannot possibly understand how to fully give and receive love until we know the love of Jesus. I'm pretty certain Walt Disney never included any of this in his fairy tales.
So let me tell you about my "prince". I haven't met him yet... or if I have I don't know that he's the one God wants me to be with. What I do know is that he loves Jesus Christ first and foremost. I want a man who is perfectly imperfect and redeemed by the blood. I want him to know what it's like to suffer, struggle, and live completely broken. I don't mean that to sound harsh, but I'm convinced those are the people who God uses for His glory. A man who has personally faced hell on earth and was picked up off his face by God himself.. a man who has to submerge himself in Jesus just to get through the day. See, I believe this is the kind of person who knows what it means to love. Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 5:22, "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord". Now I'm a stubborn and selfish woman who will fight, kick, and scream to get my way (did I mention I'm divorced). Paul also said that husbands should love their wives as Christ so loved the church, the church being His people, who I mentioned earlier were the same people He died for. So when a man loves his wife like Jesus loves us, I think a wife "submitting" herself will come pretty naturally. My prince will know this.. because he will know Jesus... because he will have a personal relationship with Jesus that came from life experience in which he had to call on Jesus Christ to save him from himself. And if God leads me to marry a man like this, I will gladly take it on, because I know we will live a life that is pleasing in His eyes. And if God is happy, we will be happy.
This is the love story I want my daughter to know. Not the ones with glass slippers and ugly step sisters, or the one with seven midgets and talking mirrors, or the even more ridiculous ones with a mermaid who trades her voice for legs. I want her to know about the love of God and how He sent his only son to die so we will one day spend eternity in Heaven with Him. The love that He will show us through the man He will put in our life to honor and cherish us, be our spiritual leader and best friend. Disney had it all wrong, God is the author of my fairy tale :)
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