Romance

"I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." - When Harry Met Sally

"I am just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her." - Notting Hill

"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds and that's what you've given me." - The Notebook

"Well, it was a million tiny little things that, when you add them all up, they meant that we were supposed to be together.....and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home.....only to no home I'd ever known. I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like.....magic." - Sleepless in Seattle

".....I think I'd miss you even if we'd never met." - The Wedding Date


There is something that stirs in me when I hear and read quotes like these. There is something that the innermost parts of my being long for. Something that people all over the world are searching for and craving. Something that who we are to the very core of us needs. Something that seems to evade us when we feel we are getting closer to it. What is it that seems to drive us crazy and yet at the same time only makes us want it more? Romance...

Whether you want to admit it or not, every person is longing for romance in their lives. There is something in us that knows we were not meant to be alone and that our hearts are meant to be joined to another. Look at the movies we watch, the music we listen to, and the books we read... They all have an undertone of romance. Every story has a basis of romance. Every woman wants to be romanced and fought for by her man and every man wants a beauty to rescue and a woman to fight for.

There are those who have found romance and get to experience the joys of it. It was created by God and it is good. But since I have not found the man God has created me for, I am going to write to those of us who are still waiting.

I believe there is a reason that we all long for love and romance to the degree that we do. I know that I have had some of the happiest times in my life when I was being romanced by a man, and I have had some of the loneliest times waiting and wishing for a man to "steal my heart." I have gone from the highest of highs after my first kiss with a man to the lowest of lows when my heart was breaking as I realized the relationship would have to end. As I was having my quiet time this morning, I was pouring out my longing to the Lord for the man He wants me to be with. I asked Him why He gave me a heart that longs for romance so much and is ready to be a wife and mother if He was still going make me wait. Then it hit me... The Lord put a desire for romance in my life because He wants to romance me before a man does. I realized that the most timeless love story of all has been the romance between the Lord and His Bride. The Lord showed me that He has been romancing me for twenty years and I have been too busy looking for a man rather than Him. I realized that we long for romance because the Lord purposely put the longing there so that we would long for a romance with Him as He cries out for a romance with us.

"As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." - Song of Solomon 2:2,3

"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine." - Song of Solomon 1:2

"When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize." - Proverbs 31:10, 11

"I found the one my heart loves." - Song of Solomon 3:4

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear." - I John 4:18


These verses stir something in me now. I have utter faith that my heart will always be romanced and loved beyond my belief. I will always have Someone pursuing my heart and desiring me. I will always have Someone who loves and adores me the way I am and thinks I am captivating. The Lord will give me what I have always wanted. He will save and romance my heart daily for the rest of my life.

I know that Lord has made me for a man here and that he will be the man I have been praying and waiting for for twenty years. Until the Lord brings him to me, I will pursue the Lord and fall more in love with Him daily. When I do meet my husband, I know we will both be so in love with the Lord, that He will be the center of us and lead us together into His will for us.

So to all of my fellow singles out there. As you wait for the right person to come, I encourage you to romance and chase after the Lord. He is the sweetest lover and most faithful companion. He will never forsake your heart and will keep it whole and full of joy.

Love,
Heritage Marie

Captivating

In the past, I have been very wounded and the result of that was me being very guarded and refusing to show emotion. It took me a good year to even consider opening up to the Lord and forgiving those who had hurt me. Since the forgiveness process has began, the Lord has slowly and very patiently worked with my wounded heart. He has and is still shaping me and mending everything I have hidden from Him for so long. One of the major things He is helping me with is showing my emotions. I am finally getting to the point of being able to talk about what I am feeling and what I think. I am over coming the lies the enemy has planted in my head. Lies like "It's unsafe to show your emotions." "You will get hurt if you let others in." "You and your emotions are too much, but you as a person are not enough." Through the power of forgiveness and Christ, I am free from those lies. Now this is not to say that I do not struggle with those thoughts still, but they have no power over me anymore.

Today, I was struggling more than usual because I have been showing and investing more emotion into something than I ever have and my worst fear started to become true... I showed emotion and I was too much. I felt shame today for what I felt rather than captivating. I began to feel as though closing up again would be the safe and easy route (as it probably would be); however, I talked to my amazing sister in law instead. She spoke the awesome words of God to me. She reminded me that I am valuable and my emotions are too. She reminded me that who I am and who the Lord has made me in the past year is so much more important than something that makes me scared to be who I am.

It's amazing how the truth can penetrate so deep to the core of you. So, today I want to encourage the girls in my life and remind you of a few things:
1) You are Captivating to the core of who you are and you are loved by a God who is fiercely devoted to you.
2) You are enough as who you are and whoever you are meant to be with will never see you as too much.
3) Do not be afraid to be vulnerable and show tenderness because the Lord is and made us to present that side of Him to the world.

Love,
Heritage Marie