LOVE, Love, love........

Have you ever loved someone so much that you would act like a crazy person? The love would just well up inside you to the point that you feel like your heart might explode!?

Does the thought of being without this person even for a short amount of time made your heart hurt. If that person asked you to leave everything and move with them would you have already had your ticket in hand and bags packed?

You can't stop talking about them. You can't stop thinking about them. You have to recount every word of every conversation you ever have with them to anyone who will listen. You think about them all.the.time. You replay the wonderful times you had over and over again or you think about all the great things you are going to do together in the future. When you see something beautiful.....you think of them and wish they were there to share it with you. When you are sad, they are the only ones that can make you feel better. When something exciting/funny/crazy happens, they are the first person you want to call and tell all about it.

You LOVE them, the way they make you feel, and just being with them.

Believe it or not, this is the way we need to feel about God.

Just like you almost can't contain yourself when you fall in love with a man/woman...you should be so filled with love for God that you can't stop talking about Him, can't stop thinking about all the things you have talked about, can't wait to spend time with Him, He is the only One that can make you feel better, and if He asked you to leave everything that you know...your bags would already be packed and the ticket purchased.

It's true....God wants us to be completely and totally in Love with Him....for the Bible tells me so.

BUT it's not easy, is it? Passionately loving God isn't something that comes as easily as passionately loving another human being...and even that is hard. Here's the deal, yo,...if we can't passionately love God...then how are we ever going to be able to passionately love the people He created?

What would happen if we treated each other the way we tend to treat God?

Ponder this:

What if we said we were best friends with someone, but the only time we ever thought about them or saw them was on Christmas and Easter....and even then we couldn't wait to leave and we really only came because we felt like we should? Two visits a year does not a best friend make. You need to spend time with someone in order to say that you know them. A best friend is someone that you WANT to know and WANT to spend time with. You want to know what they like, what they don't like, where they come from, where they want to go....etc.

What if all we did was ask our fathers to give us something whenever we were with them?

What if, after working a long day at the office..your dad rushes home because he can't wait another second to see you..he runs through the door and you barely give him a second glace...even if you do notice him there all you do is ask him for something? Dad, can we get pizza for dinner? Dad, can I get a new bike like all my friends have? That would break your Dad's heart wouldn't it? All he wants to do is spend time with you and all you want from him is stuff.

What if every time our Dad told us to do something, we didn't listen and half the time did the exact opposite?

What if your Dad told you not to sit on the left side of the park bench. At the time, it sounds stupid and doesn't make any sense....so you sit on the left hand side of the park bench and find out that the paint was wet and that he saw that Wet Paint sign on the back of the bench from where he was standing and knew you couldn't see it. Now...you have a painted butt because you thought you knew better than your Dad that loves you.

What if we never thanked our husbands/wives?

What if, after making your favorite meal, listening about your day, rubbing your feet, telling you how amazing you are and how much they love you... you just went off to bed without so much as a smile or a thank you? Not only that, but you tell them that next time they shouldn't cook the meat for so long or rub your feet so hard. That would really make doing nice things for that person really hard.

I think you see where I'm going so I'll stop with my (super awesome) analogies.

My point is....when you love someone...you feel a desire for them that you can't create yourself. There have been guys in my life that I wanted to love, wished I could have loved, tried to love....but I just couldn't. I couldn't create a love that wasn't there. When you truly love someone the desire to know them and to be with them can't be faked.

If I didn't love God, it would be really hard for me to stand up for Him. If I didn't truly love God then I wouldn't want to do what He asks me to do. God has asked me to give up my life and come follow Him. That's intense and overwhelming to say the least. Doing so means that I am going to lose friends, boyfriends, etc. Following Jesus means that my desires will change..and have changed. I don't WANT to drink anymore...it's not like I have to constantly stop myself from drinking....I didn't even need to stop drinking really. But I just stopped desiring to drink...and if you don't desire something....it's hard to make yourself to it. I also don't desire to hook up with guys just so I can feel wanted, accepted, and pretty. I don't need it. Yeah, it's lost me some potential boyfriends, but I couldn't care less. Why would I want to be with someone that just wants to hook up with me?! Anyone can have sex. Sex is so easy a monkey can do it...lol. (Bad joke alert.) God loves me soooooo much that He wants me to guard my heart. My heart is where God is. The Bible says that it is "the well-spring of life". I have let some wrong people into the garden of my heart and instead of planting a seed that will grow...they trampled my flowers....but I can't be upset....I gave them the key and gave them free reign. That was then....this is now. God wants me to be in love with Him first, and then everything else will fall into place. It's not easy to do. I find myself praying to God to give me the desire to love Him. I want to know how to love Him. And just like any relationship....He teaches me how to know Him and how to love Him. He wants us to seek Him out. He wants us to be hungry to more knowledge of Him.

I am so thankful to God for the fact that I have experienced being crazy in love with someone. If I hadn't experienced it...I wouldn't have known what it looked like. I want to love God in the way that He deserves for this wonderful life He has blessed me with. Thank you God!!!