Weddings and a Knight

I have probably been to more weddings than most people – assuming most people aren’t in the wedding business.  If you’re a florist, or a baker, or a photographer, or a caterer, or a designer, or a planner – than you’ve probably been to more weddings than me, but just barely.

See, my father was a high school teacher at a Christian school.  And, back in the late 80’s and 90’s when I was growing up, he got invited to what seemed like every-student-that-he-ever-had’s wedding.  So of course, he brought my mother, my brother, and myself along to all those weddings.  It’s just what he did.  And we went to multiple weddings every summer.

I’m not sure when it started, sometime in middle school probably, Mom and I started critiquing the weddings.  We LOVED how the bride displayed her cake; what on earth was that bride thinking putting those colors together.  Or those dresses?  Seriously?  Ouch.  And with the critiquing came planning MY wedding..someday in the future.  Which is pretty normal for a girl actually.  And of course, in order for the wedding to be perfect, there needed to be the perfect groom.  At some point (probably when I was 3) I started dreaming about him.  He would be strong, and godly, and a leader, and not easily angered, and a handy man, and had a heart for missions, and handsome (preferably blue eyes please), and taller than me, and loves kids, and loves to read, and likes to do things, and….well, the list goes on.  At one point it had 32 things on it.  Poor future husband.

I had it all planned out.  He would love me.  He would notice my needs before I even spoke them, and then take care of those very needs without me saying anything.  He would cuddle me.  He would be fine with purple flowers decorating our bedroom.  He would be tender.  He would randomly bring me flowers.  Or chocolate.  But chocolate less often than flowers.  He would surprise me with nights out.  He would listen to me.  He would wake me up before the sun, pack me into the car with a large, lumpy quilt, and drive into the sunrise.  He would be Prince Charming and oh, so very wonderful.

I’ve grown out of some of those delusions.  I’m still waiting for others to actually take place. But something hit me the other day.  I want someone to love me…just because I’m ME.  Not for anything I do, not for anything I can give them or make them feel, but because I’m me – plain and simple.  And I want that person to think I’m beautiful, and to want to spend time with me, to spend money on me (or simply be super-creative with gifts), and to honestly look for my desires and help them become reality.  And I want to do all those things and more for HIM.

The cool thing is though, God wants the exact same thing.  He wants to be adored, to have you honestly desire to spend time with Him, to tell Him how your day is going, to spend money on those He loves…He wants you to love Him.

The thing that’s circling round my mind though, is that, personally, I think worship looks a lot like love.  I mean think about it.  Part of our worship is our tithe, right?  That’s spending money.  OR He asks us to take care of one of His little ones.  That’s spending money.  He wants us to spend time with Him – whether it’s the traditional “quiet time” or it’s going on a hike with Him, or writing Him a letter or driving into the sunrise – that’s time.  Part of worship is singing, and telling Him how wonderful He is, how amazing and awesome and beautiful and powerful He is.

We are commanded to worship.  I THINK worship is simply a way to teach us how to love God.  I mean, it’s hard, right?  Loving a God – loving ANYONE – that you can’t see, is practically impossible.  Talk about long distance!  You can talk to Him, but not face-to-face, and forget cuddling.   So He gives us worship – a model for how to love Him.  But He, like any person on planet earth, doesn’t want us to love Him simply because we have to.  Rather, because everything within us, wants to.  Like the middle school girl who cannot get her first boyfriend off of her mind, He wants to be that present in our lives.

SO, how’s your worship recently?  Are you worshiping Him, or are you spending your time, your money, your thoughts somewhere else?

He loves you SO much, and His heart hungers for you to love Him back to the best of your ability (it’s what you were molded to do from the beginning).  So, if you haven’t recently, go on a date with your Lover.  Whisper into His ear as He whispers into yours.  Spend some money on Him.  Ask Him how His day is going.  Sit on a park bench and thank Him for all the little, thoughtful things He did for you today.  Like the sunrise.  Like the flowers, or the intricate twigs reaching to sky, or the snowflakes, or a friend’s hug, or a really good meal.  Like pearls, or a peacock feather, or a beautiful piece of art.   Or a butterfly.

So, go ahead, dream of your future prince.  Dream of Him often.  He’ll come for you one day, AND He’ll be on a white horse, Revelations says so.  How awesome is that!?!