Holding Hope

HOLDING HOPE

I cannot emphasize enough how badly I did NOT want to go on a first date with my husband.
So much so, that when I found out he was going to ask me out, I hid.
It was evening, it was dark and I was hiding in a van with tinted windows.
Even as I watched him walking toward the van, I did not open the door.
I would not roll down the window.

That didn’t stop him.
He walked right up to that van and knocked on that window.

Obviously I went on that date with him, since I am now referring to him as my husband 😂😂

On our first date I just sat there and listened to him talk. His dreams and goals. His convictions. His drive.
His walk with God.

Every part of me did not want to give in to my feelings or give up the “fun” I thought I was having at the time. I knew by the lifestyle Mike kept, he did not enjoy my kind of “fun”.

I was looking at a relationship with him all wrong.

Despite my inner conflict and desire to stick with the cool crowd (and not my husband’s crowd), he won me over that night because I sat and I listened.

God’s love never stops.
At this very moment God might be knocking on the door of your heart. You can feel the tug but you are hiding in the darkness of fear.
Fear of what you think you will have to give up.

You are missing all the joy, all the sweetness, all the peace and all the beauty a relationship with Jesus holds.

I don’t know why Mike chose to ask me out. I wasn’t “pastor wife” material. In fact, being a pastor’s wife was the furthest thing from my mind. At times I wonder why he loves me even now, but I do know he has made my life beautiful and sweet and I can’t imagine not having him by my side.

Just as I don’t know why God chose me and loves me. I don’t deserve it, yet He gave His life for me and~
He gave His life for you.

There’s no more beautiful way to fall in love with Jesus than to sit and listen. Open a bible. Listen to His words. Read them and discover the boundless love He has for you. In doing so, you will discover that his love is so unfathomable it will completely change your way of thinking.

A relationship with Jesus isn’t about everything you have to give up. It’s not about rules or church attendance. It’s not a prison sentence, it’s a freedom verdict. A relationship with Jesus is joy, peace, comfort, love, hope. It is hope. Hope in everything beautiful and sweet. Hope we can cling to. Hope that supports us when we are at our lowest.

So, I stood there in white and said “I do.”

As he carried me over the threshold, I could see the deep love in his eyes and I couldn’t wait to do life by his side.

Say “I do” to God. Give in to His absolutely matchless, transcendent love and give Him your life today. Ask Him to carry you through the threshold of life to all that His incredible love has in store for you. Let go of everything and allow Him to hold you as you hold onto Him and the hope He has for a life with Christ by your side.