Divine Romance
By Brita Crouse
“I will make you My
wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and
compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you Mine, and you will finally
know Me as LORD.”
Hosea 2:19-20 (NLT)
When I was in college, my roommate walked through the door and
said, “I felt really romanced by God tonight.” She sat down in the middle of
the floor and began doing some post-run stretches. I stared at her trying to
figure out what on earth she was talking about. My silence gave her the hint I
was a little confused about what being “romanced by God” entailed, so she kept
talking to give me some clarity.
“Have you seen the sunset?” I had not. I had been studying or
cleaning or doing something that did not involve looking out the window that
was only a few inches from where I was sitting. She stared back at me, waiting
for me to turn my head, making sure I actually did see the sunset.
When I looked out the window, I got why she said she “felt
romanced by God.” The sky looked like it was on fire. Pink, red, and orange
hues splashed across the sky, giving everything the light touched a warm glow.
I’m not a runner, but I have never wanted to go for a run more than I did at
that moment, just so I could be outside and feel romanced by God, too.
I could not believe what I had been missing by not turning my
head even once to look at that beautiful sunset. It got me thinking about what
other things I was missing because I was unwilling to pay attention.
In life, it is very easy to have tunnel vision; to be so focused
on one thing that you miss out on everything else. I especially experienced
that as a college student. But, I realized that I was missing out on things - -
things my Savior was doing to grab my attention.
I think, as women, we have an innate desire to be pursued. Guess
what. This happens daily. Jesus is always in pursuit of our hearts,
always showing us His love and faithfulness. He gives us tokens of His love
throughout the day, but it is up to us whether we are willing to receive His
gifts or not.
This week, literally take time to stop and smell the roses. They
were made for you.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Look for evidence of God’s love for you this week,
whether it’s through a sunset, a song or the words of a friend.
2. Take the extra time to listen to Divine Romance by
Phil Wickham. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlsIwmtb0U8).
FURTHER READING:
Brita is a licensed
K-12 School Counselor and works as the Non-Public Counselor in Roseville, Minnesota.
For the past eighteen years, she has called Oakwood her home church.
