Falling in Love

Once upon a time, there was a young girl. She was too young to know what love was.

Once upon a time, there was a also a man. He knew what love was, and when he saw that young woman, love is what he had for her.

At first the girl was too young to think of him as a love interest. But as she grew older, she heard his name mentioned more and more often. Her parents spoke of him with loving smiles, and her friends with shining eyes. This man was kind and unselfish, continually sacrificing his own desires so that he could serve others. What was not to like?

Finally the girl admitted it. She was interested in him. He sounded quite...extraordinary. But of course he would never notice her. It was impossible!

But he did notice her. He prompted her parents to ask her if she would consider getting to know him better.

With joy, the girl listened attentively to the offer. She spoke with her parents late into the night. They talked of how this decision would affect her life; how getting to know this man would have its difficult and rewarding moments; how she would have to either accept or deny his proposal.

She decided excitedly that she was willing, even eager, to get to know him. With tears in her eyes, she said, "I accept..."

Her life was never the same after that.

She fairly floated up the stairs to bed that night, shivers of excitement coursing up and down her arms.

As you may have already guessed, this girl was me.

The man?

Jesus Christ my Lord.

He saw my sin and my mess and, unfathomably, loved me in spite of it. I accepted His prompting and acknowledged Him as my Lord and Savior...the only One who could save me from my sin. Just as my parents told me, my life was forever changed. I've had very challenging times in my walk with Him, as well as incredibly fulfilling ones. He has never failed me yet.

But I think perhaps this aforementioned young woman still doesn't know as much about love as one would think. So a short while later, as she was wondering what on earth it would be like to have a husband and to be in love, she got out a notebook and wrote down some things:

When I am in love...

I will want...

-to be with my man all the time, day or night;
-to talk to him about anything, exciting and mundane alike;
-to serve him;
-to show him how much I love him by doing nice things for him;
-to work beside him, play beside him, laugh and cry beside him;
-to give him good gifts;
-to simply watch him and learn about him. There will never be an end to the things I will find out about him;
-to do his will--whatever he asks--with a cheerful smile;
-to find out what he thinks about certain things;
-to read our texts and emails over and over again;
-to go out of my way to do things that please him;
-to treasure his gifts to me, and not allow them to get ruined by someone else;
-to tell others about how amazing he is.

I will...

-think back to the time when I didn't know him and wonder how I survived;
-feel warmth and a sense of pride when I hear someone praise him, as though they were praising me;
-draw comfort and courage from him when he is with me.

When he goes away I will long for his safe return, for the time when we will be together again.

I want to KNOW him inside and out.

 When the list was halfway completed, tears began to spill out of this young woman's eyes as she realized suddenly that the way she desired to love her husband was the same way she wanted to love her Savior. What would it be like to long to speak with God, to pore over His word the way one would pore over a love letter, to treasure His gifts, to continually serve Him with cheerfulness?

That's the way a girl should be in love with her God.

That's the way I want to be in love with my God.