Lois and I were sharing coffee the other morning and I asked about our mutual friend Carol. I hadn’t seen much of Carol lately and wondered aloud what she had been up to. Comparing notes, Lois shared with me that Carol had “fallen in love”.
“Wow, that was quick” was my sudden reply!
We talked about the guy that held the object of her affection. We both knew him; I’d met him at a charity fundraiser about 2 years ago. He seemed like a nice enough guy, had been divorced a little over a year and had a seven-year old son he adored. But it seemed like the relationship with Carol had come quite suddenly. Hadn’t they just been introduced sometime in early November? Carol is “in love” by mid-December? Interesting.
Lois and I talked about how we all want that one man in our life – that special someone who is attracted to us, understands our needs, listens to us, and shares our dreams. Someone who will be the leader in our family, nurtures our faith, and protects us from evil in the world. All this usually takes time to develop and mature. I’m not saying it can’t happen in a couple of months, but sometimes it takes years to reach that level of true love. That’s why I was so surprised to hear she had fallen so quickly, yet I had been in a similar relationship in a past life. Lois and I shared some of our relationships that were never quite right. In every case, we had expected much more from the relationship than it could ever give. There is only one “perfect” love that can develop so quickly and passionately; and as hard as we try, humans are incapable of giving such love.
Soon our conversation came back to Carol and we joked about when there is a new man in your life, your girlfriends don’t seem to get the time and attention they once commanded. You know us girls, we get all wrapped up in the newness and excitement of the romance, we even get wrapped up in the very idea of being in “love.” What joy to love someone and have him or her love you back; he might even be the “right one!” Love consumes every minute of our day; we want to stay in that blissful state forever. We lose weight because we can’t eat, we can’t focus on work because we’re checking our phones for his latest message, and glancing at a calendar occasionally wondering if that June weekend at the church is already booked.
As Lois and I sipped the last of our coffee, we discussed how important it is to maintain our relationship to God, even when there is someone “special” in our life. Lois asked the hardest question: “What if we as women were in love with God like that? What if we couldn’t wait to see God every day, to want to please him, to be with him every minute of the day, to grow old with him, and to be a part of his family?” You see, that is the only “perfect” love I described above. Why? Because only God is capable of the type of love we all desire.
Whether we are married, single, or with a “significant other,” our relationship with God should give us those tingling feelings often found in a new romance. We should get up every morning wanting to be with Him, wanting to live our lives together and wanting to serve in Him with our gifts and talents. We need to want to “dress up” every time we meet Him, just like we do with a newfound “love”.
I’ve fallen in love with God; again.
Blessings that you may also feel the greatness of knowing God as your “significant other”,
Agatha