A Few Thoughts from a Single On Valentine's Day

Valentines Day. Ah yes, that hyped-up Cupid-infused Hallmark-created reminder to many that their left-hand ring finger is as empty as their bed.  That there are no card-giving, roses-toting, candlelit-dinner-taking romantic-words-whispering heartthrobs ringing their doorbells tonight. And if you're in the 50+ singles category you can add the icy-fingered despair that your shelf life is expiring with every passing minute and if God doesn't send "him" (cue sunbeams and the angelic chorus ) soon, there won't be much left to be swept away to happy ever after-ville!  Oh, where IS that bottle of wrinkle cream?!?!?

Yes I'll be the first in line to admit sometimes it stinks to be alone. But God's been working with me a lot on this very subject for awhile now. He has asked the hard question when I've cried and told Him I'm lonely and I didn't think I'd be where I am at this stage of the game, and  I have so much to offer and how come...

"Am I not enough?"

Whoa. 

"Am I not enough?"

It stopped me dead in my tracks. 

How do you answer that? "Well yeah-uh, but... Uh... Well..."

That question has haunted me ever since... And then I realized that, if I let Him be enough He could fill the emptiness.  He could calm my longing heart. He could help me get my eyes off what I didn't have and fill me with all I did have... And all I could give away. 

I can take this love and pour it out on others, just love on them and bless them and bring them joy. I can use this time and energy to spend with The Lord, cultivating our relationship and growing and maturing as a godly woman. Instead of whining I can be shining, radiating His love to others... 

So okay, it's still not having a flesh-and-blood someone to romance and hold and cuddle up next to all warm and sleepy in the middle of the night. 

But before me is my holy Bridegroom, the Lover of my soul. The One Who gave His life for me. The One Who loves me unconditionally in spite of my past and ugly heart and sinful selfish self. The One Who always has time to listen to me, Who will never hurt me or lie to me... or abandon me. He will never leave me - He has promised me that. And I believe Him and find comfort and contentment in that. 

Does it mean I'm never sad or lonely, or don't hope for a lifetime of love with that special "someone"? (Cue sunbeams and chorus again). Of course not. 

But... I have found me... in Christ. I am finally, fully myself in/with Him.  I have found joy and contentment in my singleness. I don't know what The Lord has in store for me. We talk about it, and He knows the desires of my heart. I place them all in His capable hands.  I surrender them to His will for my life. He will give me strength and wisdom to walk whatever journey is around the corner. I'm done worrying and fussing and fretting about it. I'm gonna live each day with everything I've got, every drop of love I can give --regardless of whether I'm a Ms. or Mrs.  Because at the end, whether it's been with someone I can call "the Hubs", or whether it's been with family, friends and others, I want to know I loved deeply and fully and completely in His name. 

"I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content." Psalm 131:2

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

Philippians 4:12-13

Come to Me

Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." 

I have read this verse so many times, especially when I was tired and needed rest.  But this morning, as I was spending devotional time with God, what hit me fresh in the face was the image of Jesus.  He stands in front of me, stretching out his nail-pierced hand, and with unspeakable tenderness and love whispers, "Come to Me..."  I find myself catching my breath and feeling tears streaming down my face.

Jesus, Lord of the Universe, Creator of Heaven and Earth, wants me. 

We all want to be loved and cherished.  We all want to belong to someone and share our lives in love.  How often do we watch as the media shows as a man kneels down, hand outstretched to the woman he loves, asking her for her hand in marriage?  Isn't a woman's heart meant to be thrilled by that kind of love?

And yet here I am, faced with the reality that Jesus Himself is asking me to be His bride - to come to Him and let Him love me forever.  To be wrapped up in His loving arms for all eternity.  He will never leave me, never divorce me, never hurt me.  I can be myself with Him, because He always knows the good/bad/ugly of me.  I don't have to pretend to be perfect, or worry about saying the wrong thing and feeling vulnerable and foolish and scared in His presence. 

He will always be there to listen, to encourage, to share His wisdom for my life.  He will protect me, be my ultimate knight in shining armor and love me unconditionally and sacrifically... always.  He laid down His life for me already... and conquered death... for me.  For me...

Jesus, as I write this with the tears blurring my vision, I once again say yes.  In my head I see myself resting my head against You as You wrap your arms around me and hold me close.  Draw me close to you... never let me go...

I love You.

God is Love -- And He Loves Everyone

Today, with the permission of the author, I am sharing Pam's post entitled "God is Love -- And He Loves Everyone". She is spot-on, and I felt it was a message that needed to be heard by us all. Pam is a gifted writer, dear friend and fellow Christ-follower, and I encourage you to subscribe to her blog (click on the title to get there) In The Shadow of His Wings. (Note - you will need to go to her website to view the vidow she speaks of in the post.)

Be blessed, as I was, as you read:

I normally don’t take on writing about any subject or person that is considered to be controversial. I try my best to be the peacekeeper in my world, and like Rex the Dinosaur says in ‘Toy Story,’ “I don’t like confrontations!” However, I get the feeling that with this post, I may ruffle some feathers. Or perhaps not. We’ll see.

The other day, I came across a video posted by my friend, Curt Leininger, on his ‘Created For Blessing’ blog (please scoot over to My Blog List and you’ll find the link to his site). Curt was once my church’s youth pastor and is now the Pastor of Discipleship at a church up in Wyckoff, New Jersey.

To me, Curt has some very different and quite eclectic taste in music, so when I saw his post called ‘Sunday Afternoon Music Video,’ I figured it would be some way cool or deeply thought provoking tune by some indie artist or band I’d never heard of and my interest was piqued.

What I found was a very basic, simplistic, almost childlike musical offering by a band I actually DO know (thanks to my buddy, TJ), called Gungor. The song, which is several years old, is called, ‘White Man,’ and while the lyrics are again -- basic, simplistic and almost childlike -- they are at the same time, to me, profound and true.

And way cool. And deeply thought provoking. I guess two out of three ain’t bad.

The video was put together by a community of artists called ‘The Work of The People.’ It is also very basic with it’s childlike drawings and I must admit, kind of bizarre. I’m sure that for as many different people who view it, there will be that many different reactions/responses. Some may get a kick out of the video, yet totally get the gist of the chorus -- that God is Love and He loves everyone.

Others may not only find the visuals lame, overtly cutsie-pie and silly, ridiculous, somewhat irreverent and offensive, but the lyrics as well -- again, that God is Love and He loves everyone.

Everyone??

Everyone meaning, as the song states:

Atheists and
Charlatans and
Communists and
Lesbians and
Even old Pat Robertson

Catholic or
Protestant or
Terrorists or
President
　
Ok, hold on for a minute there. Really? I’m sure there are people reading this now that may not even stick around to view the video and listen to the lyrics after looking over the list of groups referenced. People who may see themselves in that list (or not) and possibly be:
　
Hurt
Offended
Confused
Irritated or
(e) all of the above

I can’t say that I blame you. Atheists and Lesbians and Terrorists. Oh my.

But -- let’s keep a few things in mind. Mainly, what it says in God’s Word.

First, though, I’m going to back up a bit. Back in September, a young missionary couple from my church sent out their newsletter via email. In it, they mentioned being burdened for people in the Muslim world and then they made this statement:

When Osama Bin Laden was killed, Bill and I truly mourned. We know this was a man who wronged our country immensely, but he was also a man who was spiritually held captive by a religion that led him into darkness. On the day he died, it felt like Satan had won the victory in the fight for his soul.

Apparently, they received some pretty negative feedback from some recipients of their newsletter (whom I’m assuming are mostly Christian) because of that comment and, the very next day, had to send out another email to clarify just exactly what they meant by their stating that they ‘truly mourned’ when Bin Laden was killed. Personally, I kind of thought it was a shame this couple had to do this. Because their saying that Bin Laden was a man who’d been held captive spiritually and led into darkness by his religion, and that they felt that Satan had come out victorious in the fight for his soul seemed to be quite enough of a clarification right there.

And yet, isn’t that what’s going on here anyway? Meaning that Satan, the enemy, has been and continues to be at war for our souls. The souls of everyone. The souls of those who were/are

Atheists
Charlatans
Communists
Lesbians
Terrorists
　
　
The souls of folks like

(Deceased)
Adolph Hitler
Karl Marx
Rock Hudson
Charles Ponzi
Osama Bin Laden

(Living)
Stephen Hawkings
Marilyn Manson
Ellen DeGeneres
Chaz Bono
Bernard Madoff
　
While not everyone in the world can be called ‘children of God,’ they are still His creations. Don’t you think God’s heart aches for those who choose to turn from Him and want nothing to do with Him, those who, for whatever reason, choose the wide path instead of the narrow one? And if we call ourselves followers of Christ, then our hearts should be heavy for those who have chosen the darkness instead of the Light, continually praying for their change of heart, recompense and a receiving of forgiveness, mercy and grace for them right up until the end, and mourning when they choose to remain held captive by the enemy.

So, back to what to keep in mind if you choose to view and listen to this video. And that is, what it says in the Bible, the very Word of God:

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” ~ Matthew 9:11-13 (NIV)

And we can see that it was while we were powerless to help ourselves that Christ died for sinful men. In human experience it is a rare thing for one man to give his life for another, even if the latter be a good man, though there have been a few who have had the courage to do it. Yet the proof of God’s amazing love is this: that it was while we were sinners that Christ died for us. ~ Romans 5:6-8, (J.B. Phillips NT)　

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know Him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent His only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God. ~ 1 John 4:7-12, (The Message)
　
The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ~ 2 Peter 3:9, (ESV)

Believe me when I say that I’m not looking to offend anyone or to tick anybody off with this post. I just want to share that, because of this simple song, I’ve been reminded yet again that we are called not to love the sin…but to love the sinner. We are called to point those hard to deal with, hard to understand, hard to accept, hard to forgive, hard to look at, hard to listen to and speak with, hard to LOVE people to the One Who gave His One and Only Son for them.

Because God is love. And He loves everyone.

Extravagant Love

Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. I Corinthians 13:13, MSG

I came across this Scripture quote in one of Gary Chapman’s books this morning, and I loved the Message’s interpretation. Trusting steadily in God isn’t always easy, so that reminded me how important it is for me to have a consistent relationship with Him, and to daily/actively/intentionally set my mind to trust in God, no matter what might occur as part of His plan for me.

Then comes an unswerving hope – the word “unswerving” was particularly fresh to me this morning because I had to swerve out of the way of a car that was drifting into my lane. But here I am prompted to do the exact opposite -- stay the course, hold strong and steady with perseverance and tenacity.

But then, ah then, I am told to love extravagantly. The dictionary definition of extravagant is: going beyond usual bounds; unrestrained. The word is originally from the Latin extra “outside of” and vagary “wander, roam”.

Extravagant – I love the sound of this word. I imagine saying it and tossing my arms wide open slowly – extraaaaavaaaagant! Not restrained, not frugally, but full force head on “bring it!” L-O-V-E!!!!! We are so careful and safe about showing feelings. We play games with one another, wear masks, hold back for fear of being wounded again, or sometimes it’s simply the fact that in this crazy busy day and age we just don’t even have time to think about nurturing a loving relationship with those we love the most. It’s just a day-to-day there-they-are hi-how-are-you kind of take-it-for-granted emotional sleepwalk.

But you know… things happen… and often we find ourselves faced with the regret of not having loved extravagantly, no matter why the reason. Before we know it, in a breath, we’ve lost an opportunity that can never be reclaimed.

I want to wander outside the norm of love – to go beyond the usual boundaries. On a foundation of trusting in God and hoping in Him, I want to run with arms and heart wide open, loving with every ounce of me that I’ve got, unafraid and extravagantly – so that someday my epitaph would include the phrase “Boy, she really knew what it meant to love – I always felt loved by her.”

If Christ loved me enough to open his arms wide on the cross just for me (the epitome of extravagant love), then surely I can follow His example and open my arms wide to others.