Have you ever noticed how the most romantic scenes are those in nature? You’ve heard the old clichés… a picnic in the park, a walk on the beach, a starry night, fields blanketed with snow, etc. Maybe that’s why honeymooners typically head to the most naturally beautiful places in the world, which are also places of solitude. For that week, all they want to focus on is each other and the newness of true love.
A few weeks ago, I found myself overwhelmingly lost in romantic feelings when I took a stroll in the park after a long, peaceful run outside. When I sat by a creek to rest, I couldn’t help but to get sucked up into the romance of nature. I lay there on the soft ground beneath a canopy of limbs, leaves, and vines and watched birds soaring through the air and squirrels dancing on branches as the sun’s rays gently caressed my skin. The melody of running water flowed to my ears and the smell of honeysuckles and cedar was intoxicating. This was romance at its finest.
That’s when I realized something… I was love drunk, but I was by myself. More than that, I was smelly, sweaty, and unappealing to any onlooker close by. I didn’t feel beautiful or attractive by the world’s standards. Still, the smile that had grown on my face could not be removed and the joy in my heart danced with no intentions of stopping. I was in love and it had nothing to do with the fleeting, selfish, skin-deep love that the world practices daily. I was in love because I was being romanced by the very One who created all of the images and senses that I was enjoying.
You see, the world’s got it all wrong. Before God transformed my heart and mind on the issue of love, I would have thought, “This moment would be so romantic… if only Mr. Right were here with me…” When I did share romantic experiences with subjects of my affection, I felt less than satisfied. In fact, I was always left disappointed and dejected. Whoever I was with never seemed to fully get what was so romantic about mountain scenery, star gazing, or why I would want to go for a walk in the park… just because. I always seemed to blame this on men, concluding that they just weren’t romantic or thoughtful when, in fact, I was the one looking for romance in all the wrong places.
The truth of the matter is that as a society, women look to men to fulfill all of their dreams and desires. Whether we admit it or not, we want to a man to come riding in on his white horse and scoop us away. We want someone who will protect us and make us feel comfortable enough to lay our armor down, making ourselves vulnerable for him. We want true, deep, passionate, undying love that will last forever. We want someone to look deeper than our surfaces to see the real beauty within… beauty that will only become more radiant with age. We want to find that one man who will persevere to jump all of our hurdles and go through fire to be with us, and then appreciate and respect us for as long as we live. Our hearts ache to be cherished, to have someone sneak glances at us when no one is looking and to do all that they can to figure out all of the little things that make us who we are. Here’s the catch… there IS a man who does each of these little things every single day. Jesus Christ’s love was so deep, passionate, and true that He would have laid His life on the line for us. In fact, that’s exactly what He did. He died so that we could be with Him forever. Christ will never get tired of or grow out of your beauty because the beauty He sees in you is the very beauty He gave you (1 Sam 16:7, KJV).
Every romance contains some sense of mystery and the adventure of discovery. This one is no different. The Bible refers to Christ’s love and this unique relationship as a mystery many times (Matt. 13:11, 1 Cor 2:7, 1 Cor 15:51, Eph 5:32). Just like in most romantic relationships, this love changes you. As Christians, we become so amazed at God’s “love letter” (the Bible) that we read it over and over again, dying to know more about what He likes, doesn’t like, how He feels about us, what makes Him happy, when we’ll get to see Him again, etc. The funny thing is this: as perfect as our Lover is, He cares enough to want to know about us, too! Of all that He has created, He sees us as precious and actually wants to spend time with us. Over and over again, God tells us that He wants us to come to Him and tell Him how we feel, what we think, what we care about, etc. (Heb 4:16 and Phil 4:6).
The book of Hosea describes God calling us back to Himself, or romancing us to be with Him, in verse 14 of chapter 2 when he says, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably to her.” I fully believe that this is exactly why God made nature so beautiful and serene; it is attractive to us and invites us to spend time alone, which leads us to being “in the wilderness,” or away from the world, with God. My heart was so engaged in the nature walk I mention previously because that’s exactly what God’s purpose was. He created nature to capture our attention and leave us standing in awe at the works of His hands so that we would be drawn to Him and praise Him.
Whenever God addresses a woman in the Bible, He speaks to her tenderly and affectionately, which is why I believe that one of His purposes in creating nature so beautifully was to bring romance to the relationship between Himself and the women of His elect. In the Song of Solomon 2:10, part of the love song says, “…Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” God is calling us to Himself, not as a group of people, but as individuals. He specifically tells us to “…Rise up…” and “…come away (KJV).” How many times have you sat in your room wishing for something more? I challenge you to take a walk outside by yourself and pray. Pay attention to the smells and sounds of nature and to the beautiful scenery that God has blessed you with. Take a blanket outside on a cool night and lay under the stars talking to God. There is no doubt that the more time you spend with God, the more you will fall in love with Him. There is absolutely nothing to lose, but everything to gain. Jeremiah 29:13 says that “…ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Stop waiting. Stop wishing. Start falling in love with your King.
I love this!!! Your heart is beautiful <3
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