Warning... deep and long post
I've been learning a lot lately... several conversations and surrounding situations have sparked a lot of thought on love. A few recent situations have had me feeling (by moments) a bit jaded on relationships. I think it's sad that the very thing intended to be the closest example to the love Christ has with His church is the very thing that seems to be the most messed up and twisted in our society today. Christians are no exception - in fact, there's a statistic out there that states the divorce rate for Christians is .7% higher than the divorce rate of non-Christians. I guess Satan especially likes to weasle his way into what's intended to be the most beautiful living metaphor of Christ's love on Earth. Now, we can't give Satan too much credit since we have been given free will... and in most cases have the ability to make choices and decisions. Anyways, I was feeling discouraged sometime last week with some of these thoughts jumbling through my head... and I ended up "randomly" (is anything truly random?) talking to my Chorale buddy Jon. Then another Chorale buddy, Justin, came up and the topic began centering on relationships. I became less and less of an active part of the conversation and more and more of a listener as two of my brothers began sharing about how they felt about women and what they felt God has been revealing to them about relationships, love, and being a man of God in today's society. I was floored by their sincerity and passion, and honored that I could call them brothers. Girls... the men worth waiting for are the ones who see you in the early morning hours when you look like absolute crap... and love you all the more for it. The men worth waiting for are the ones who want to grow old with you - learning and growing together, encouraging and challenging one another on this journey. And God has shown me once again that those men really do exist - they're not figments of our imagination. I loved listening... and I was encouraged beyond what I can describe. Thanks Jon and Justin...
I think marriage is probably the hardest and difficult step two couple can take... but I believe that it's also worth it, if Christ has brought two people so clearly together. As I intimated earlier, there have been a few instances these past weeks that have made me feel a little jaded and even made me re-think and re-question my own motives in relationships and such. I'll just leave it at this - I NEVER want to lead my brothers on in any kind of mind game. I've watched too many relationships get left behind because one person wanted to move along, and it's painful to see the ones left behind. If I ever come across as leading my brothers on in any kind of way, I hope one of them or one of my sisters has the guts to give me a proverbial slap in the face, and I pray I will have the guts to take it, too. It's not easy being challenged - hard on the pride and emotions. I hope that God will use those challenges to speak to my heart and show me how I can better become the kind of woman He can use and continue to mold during this lifetime.
We've gotten really good at justifying all of our actions (regarding guy/girl relationships) with phrases like "I think we're supposed to move on now - I think God has other plans". Well, I can tell you this... God's plan has NEVER been for human relationships to be broken. We still live in a fallen world, but I don't believe that we should ever use God's name to justify breaking the marriage relationship - unless there has been a breach of fidelity with no remorse or sign of change on the part of one or both parties. Perhaps it's all the more reason we need to carefully think and pray about taking relationships past the point of friendship. Perhaps it's all the more reason that once a relationship is taken past the point of friendship, both parties need to continually surrender one's self to Christ and to one another. Marriage is sacred and making the decision to move towards that is huge. Perhaps I'm idealistic or naive in wishing that people would take their relationships more seriously - but after all, we're talking about messing with our brother/sister's hearts on a permanent and intimate level. I don't think I'm naive in wanting that kind of relationship to be one of the most incredibly serious decisions I will ever make. Past broken relationships are often forgiven, but not forgotten by the one whose life was touched in any way. Perhaps a lot of broken hearts would be spared if people took "that relationship" that seriously.
Hmm... thoughts? I'm not near finished processing through this stuff, so sorry if it seems jumbled or incomplete. I'm a work in progress, remember...I'm not perfect... just pretty darn close. hah... right. Slap me now.
I think marriage is probably the hardest and difficult step two couple can take... but I believe that it's also worth it, if Christ has brought two people so clearly together. As I intimated earlier, there have been a few instances these past weeks that have made me feel a little jaded and even made me re-think and re-question my own motives in relationships and such. I'll just leave it at this - I NEVER want to lead my brothers on in any kind of mind game. I've watched too many relationships get left behind because one person wanted to move along, and it's painful to see the ones left behind. If I ever come across as leading my brothers on in any kind of way, I hope one of them or one of my sisters has the guts to give me a proverbial slap in the face, and I pray I will have the guts to take it, too. It's not easy being challenged - hard on the pride and emotions. I hope that God will use those challenges to speak to my heart and show me how I can better become the kind of woman He can use and continue to mold during this lifetime.
We've gotten really good at justifying all of our actions (regarding guy/girl relationships) with phrases like "I think we're supposed to move on now - I think God has other plans". Well, I can tell you this... God's plan has NEVER been for human relationships to be broken. We still live in a fallen world, but I don't believe that we should ever use God's name to justify breaking the marriage relationship - unless there has been a breach of fidelity with no remorse or sign of change on the part of one or both parties. Perhaps it's all the more reason we need to carefully think and pray about taking relationships past the point of friendship. Perhaps it's all the more reason that once a relationship is taken past the point of friendship, both parties need to continually surrender one's self to Christ and to one another. Marriage is sacred and making the decision to move towards that is huge. Perhaps I'm idealistic or naive in wishing that people would take their relationships more seriously - but after all, we're talking about messing with our brother/sister's hearts on a permanent and intimate level. I don't think I'm naive in wanting that kind of relationship to be one of the most incredibly serious decisions I will ever make. Past broken relationships are often forgiven, but not forgotten by the one whose life was touched in any way. Perhaps a lot of broken hearts would be spared if people took "that relationship" that seriously.
Hmm... thoughts? I'm not near finished processing through this stuff, so sorry if it seems jumbled or incomplete. I'm a work in progress, remember...I'm not perfect... just pretty darn close. hah... right. Slap me now.