Sweet Song.

So, this weekend I went to the Song of Solomon conference based on Tommy Nelson's book about Songs. If you have never read anything about this book in the bible, I suggest you do it immediately. It's amazing to me that my life, up to this point, was guided by the assumption that God didn't cover the topics of sex (other than not to have it outside marriage), dating, romance and how to love your partner.. and how to BE loved by your partner. What did I think exactly? I guess I thought that I knew the basic rules about marriage, adultery and how to define a godly husband or wife. Beyond that, I suppose I thought we were left up to our own devices to navigate through it all and hope for the best. How ridiculous. Why did I assume that my God, the creator of the universe and the King of Kings, just didn't mention anything on a topic that most of us have been consumed by at some point in our lives? I'm embarrassed and humbled by my ignorance and my lack of persistence in finding out what God says about all these things. Consequently, I've done nothing right in this area.. EVER. By His grace and provision, I now know what His plans are for us in this area. And, it is more incredible and awesome than I could ever have imagined, hoped for and definately experienced by my own hand in the world.

I'm sad that I didn't look harder for His guidance.. that I didn't trust that the Creator of all pleasure and goodness didn't have a detailed plan to assist me in navigating romantic love. I prayed for forgiveness on that this weekend. I love that I know Him just that much better now. And that was maybe the biggest lesson in all of this. I saw another layer of who He is and once again am in awe of the complexity of His character and all of His provisions. He is AWESOME!

So, now I know. I know what a Godly romance looks like.. and I won't settle for anything less. And what a gift to know that, in all my sin in this area, He still chooses to use me to bring Him glory. Just in a different way than I thought. I'm not used goods and all is not lost. It never is with Him. He is the ultimate redeemer.. in all areas of who we are. I feel so blessed by His infinite chances to be brought back into His grace. And with that honor, I will respectfully and humbly allow my Father to choose the man I marry. God has given me a precious second chance to do it right.. so cool. :)

Today, I am grateful for: That I'm finally understanding that all love comes from loving and knowing my Heavenly Father FIRST.