inspiration

i hope that some day i can love this well.
"How can I stay in love with a man who hasn't spoken to me in a year and a half? A man who can't plan a special date for us, can't tell me anything without me asking first, can't challenge me, earn money for us, lead us in devotions or call me at work to see how my day is going. I dont' know how. I also don't know how God still loves me, someone who has nothing to offer Him. But both have happened and have made my life infinitely better."

from prayforian.com

since i died to dating...

so what's been different?

outwardly, not much. at least i don't think so. but inwardly, things are starting to change. it's weird; i don't know that i would call dating or my desire for marriage an idol, per se. i mean, maybe i should, but it doesn't seem to really fit that category.

basically, i stopped trying. i know that sounds bad, but it feels good; as if that's what god has wanted me to do for a while; give control to him. especially mental control. and i have to admit, it's been really freeing.

i feel like this sounds weird, so here's an example. a week or so after i decided to let go of this stuff, i was doing some planning and thinking about my upcoming church/humanitarian trip to new orleans. randomly, i thought, hmm... i should talk to my coworker dan and find out if his good-looking single friend christopher is thinking about going on the trip. i should try and encourage him to go. but as soon as that thought entered my head, i was like, wait, what? NO! not my job! not what i need to be worrying about. and it felt really good to recognize that, and tell that thought to take off! (eh!)

that seems to be the root of it. turning off my radar, turning off the voice that tells me to always be on the lookout and always try to make the most of any/every interaction. i don't want to be 'on' all the time. i just want to be myself. i want to be more worried about other things; helping people, serving, loving. not when and where and how i'll meet some great guy. it'll happen. i am friendly and outgoing and confident and attractive.

and i think good things are coming out of this. like my pastor said; dying to the things we want enables us to love better. that's ultimately what i want; to love better. to love anyone and everyone better. more. with the love of christ; the self-sacrificing, self-denying love of christ.

the other reason i haven't had much to say

back in april, there was a sermon at church that basically was about dying to self. our pastor, brian, started out by lugging a big treasure chest up on stage and talking about how we all have treasure we lug around with us, and how our treasure keeps us from loving others.

he pulled various items out of the treasure chest and described how they were things that he had had to die to. for example, one thing was a log cabin. he said he'd always wanted a little cabin off in the woods somewhere, to go do 'man things in the woods.' (ha.) but, instead of saving money for a down payment and a mortgage on a cabin for him, he and his family were putting their money toward other things, like charitable giving and supporting people and organizations doing kingdom work. he still wanted the cabin, but had died to it in order to do other things. in order to love other people.

he went through a bunch of things, and at the end of each description, he'd toss each thing (toy log cabin, for example) into a big pine coffin on the stage. of course at the end of the service, there was time to pray and ask god what it was that we needed to put in the coffin.

it wasn't a big voice, or an intense feeling, or anything like that. but i knew. i knew i had to put my desire for a husband into the coffin. i knew i had to give up complete control and put it in there and die to it and close the lid and not look back. and so i did.

i died to my intense longing to find a husband. i put it in a coffin and told god he could have all of it. and i walked out of church feeling pretty good. it wasn't any kind of big deal; no tears or intensity or anything, like i said.... it was just this feeling like, yup, ok. i'm tired of this, you can have it.

so what's different about me now? and why'd i have to put a perfectly normal and healthy desire to death? sit tight. i'll get to that. just not right now.