A Woman's Question

"This chills me everytime I read it. Her words show me to be the immature boy that I am, stopping me in my tracks and daring me to be man enough to treat a woman right. Some of the poem's wording might seem old-fashioned, but the message is timeless."
                                                                                            ~Joshua Harris, I Kissed Dating Goodbye

Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing

Ever made by the Hand above?

A woman's heart, and a woman's life--

And a woman's wonderful love.

Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing

As a child might ask for a toy?
Demanding what others have died to win,

With the reckless dash of a boy.

You have written my lesson of duty out,

Manlike, you have questioned me.

Now stand at the bars of my woman's soul

Until I shall question thee.

You require your mutton shall always be hot,

Your socks and your shirt be whole;

I require your heart be true as God's stars

And as pure as His Heaven, your soul

You require a cook for your mutton and beef,

I require a far greater thing;

A seamstress you're wanting for socks and shirts--

I look for a man and a king.

A king for the beautiful realm called Home,

And a man that his Maker, God,

Shall look upon as He did on the first

And say, "It is very good."

I am fair and young, but the rose may fade

From this soft young cheek one day;

Will you love me then 'mid the falling leaves,

As you did 'mong the blossoms of May?

Is your heart an ocean so strong and true,

I may launch my all on its tide?

A loving woman finds heaven or hell

On the day she is made a bride.

I require all things that are grand and true,

All things that a man should be;

If you give this all, I would stake my life

To be all you demand of me.

If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook

You can hire and little to pay;

But a woman's heart and a woman's life

Are not to be won that way.

~Lena Lathrop~

That poem is my heart's cry for my future husband. Yes, it may be old-fashioned wording, but you can understand what it's saying. You can even translate it to modern-day words and meaning. I know it's long, but kind of like this:

So it seemed that it was cool for everyone to be in a relationship but me. So, I took matters into my own hands and ended up with him.
Him, who displayed the characteristics of a cheater, a liar, an abuser, and a thief, so why was I surprised when he broke into my heart?
I called 911 but I was cardiac arrested for aiding and abetting ‘cause it was me who let him in - claiming we were ‘just friends’.
It was already decided for me by the first date that even if he wasn't, I was gonna make him the one.
You know, I was tired of being alone, and I simply made up in my mind that it was about that time so I decided to drag him along for the ride, because I was always the bridesmaid and never the bride.
A virgin in the physical but mentally just a grown woman on the corner, in heat, and was tired of the wait.
So I was going to make him the one.
He had a form of godliness, but not much.
But, hey! I can change him, so I’ll take him.
I mean, he’s close enough.
Ready to sell my aorta for a quarter not knowing the value of its used to be - Arteries so clogged with my will that blocked His will from flowing through me.
So I thank Christ that His blood pressure gave His heart an attack that flat-lined my obscure vision,  put me flat on my back.
Through my ignorance He saw, so through my sternum He saw, to crack open my chest to transplant so I was 51:10 (Psalm 51:10).
A new heart and a renewed, right spirit within, so now I fully understand; better yet, I thoroughly comprehend how much I need to wait… for you.
 
See, the bad thing is that I knew he wasn’t you from the beginning.
‘Cause in the beginning was the Word and he didn't even sound or shine like Your Son.
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and all he could whisper were sweet, empty nothings, which meant nothing.He couldn't even pray what I needed him to.
Asking him to fast would be absurd, so forget about being cleansed and washed with water through the Word.
But I know you. You are already praying for me.
Even never having met me, let me assure you, I will wait... for you.
 
I will no longer date, socialize, or communicate with carbon copies of you to appease my boredom or to quench my thirsty desire for attention and short-lived compliments from sort-of kind-ers.
You know: he’s sort-of kind of right, but sort-of kind of wrong.
His first name Luke, his last name Warm.
I won’t settle for false companionship.
I won’t lay in the embrace of his arms attempting to find some closeness but never feeling so far apart ‘cause I just want to be held.
‘ Cause all I gotta do is say, “No”.No more almost sessions of almost coming close.Passing winks and buying drinks and – I’m a, I’m a, I’m a flirt -
Who flirts with the ideology of: “Can you just tell me how much I can get away with and still be saved?”
No more.

I’ll stay in my bed, alone, and write poems about how I will wait for you.
He won’t even come close;
Our fingers won’t even interlock;
We won’t even exchange breath;
‘Cause I have thoughts that I have saved, and asked that Father God has only equipped you to open.I will no longer get be-raided down from so-called friends and family talks about the concerns of my biological clock when I serve the Author of Time – who is not subject to time, but I am subject to Him.
He has the ability to stop, fast forward, pause, or rewind at any given time so if we could role play, you would be Abraham and I would be Sarah.
Or, you could be Isaac and I could be Rebekah: a servant’s answered prayer.
I am bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh, made up of your rib, Adam.
And once we meet, like electrons I will be bound to your nucleus completely indivisible atom. 
We even speak the same math.
One plus one plus one equals three, which really equals One if you add 'em.
We were all created in His image, but you have the ability to reflect, project, and even detect the Son.
If I were to explain what you look like, you would have to look like a star – a son of the Son.
I would gain energy simply from the light that you shine on me.
I would need you in order to complete my photosynthesis.
I await your revelation but once again from the moments of genesis – I will wait for you.
And I will know you, because

 when you speak I will be reminded of Solomon’s wisdom;

your ability to lead will remind me of Moses;

your faith will remind me of Abraham;

your confidence in God’s word will remind me of Daniel;

your inspiration will remind me of Paul;

your heart for God will remind me of David;

your attention to detail will remind me of Noah;

your integrity will remind me of Joseph;

and your ability to abandon your own will will remind me of the disciples.

                    But your ability to love selflessly and unconditionally will remind me of Christ.But I won’t need to identify you by any special Matthews or any special Marks ‘cause His word will be tatted all over your heart.

And you will know me and you will find me where the

boldness of Esther meets the warm, closeness of Ruth;

where the hospitality of Lydia is aligned with the submission of Mary,

which is engulfed in the tears of a praying Hannah.
I will be the one drenched in Proverbs 31 waiting for you.

But to my Father, my Father who has known me before I was birthed into this earth – only if You should see fit.I desire Your will above mine, so even if you call me to a life of singleness, my heart is content with You. You are the greatest love story ever told, the greatest love ever known.
You are forever my Judge and I’m forever Your witness.
And I pray I’m always found in the mission about my Father’s business.
 I will always be Yours, and I will always wait for You, LORD.More than the watchmen wait for the morning. More than the watchmen wait for the morning,

I will wait. 



The Best Is Yet To Come...

Sometime

Sometime

                        when all life's lessons have been learned,
                                                        And the sun and stars forevermore have set
                                                                       The things which our weak judgements here have spurned,
                                         The things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet,
                 Will flash before us out of life's dark night,
                                                                          As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue;
                                                  And we shall see how all God's plans are right,
                                                                 And how what seemed reproof was love most true.

Then be content poor heart;

God's plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold;

                                                                              we must not tear the close-shut leaves apart--
                                                     Time will reveal the chalices of gold.
                            And if, through patient toil, we reach the land
                                                                   Where tired feet, with sandals loosed, may rest,
           When we shall clearly see and understand,
                               I think that we will say,

 "God knew the best!"

The Best Is Yet To Come...

Our Delight Is His Delight

You know what I love?

Beauty.

And the best part is that it's all around. Beauty is truly all around.

If you know how to find it.

We live in a world and culture that defines beauty through the size of our waist and the color of our hair and the name on our clothes. We walk through a world and culture where the eyes of man are constantly looking for a way to improve the way we look to satisfy the desire of someone else. Yes, it's easy to find beauty in those ways because we've been told what beauty is. Got the hair? Check. Got the waist size? Check. Got the make-up? Check. Got the muscles? Check. Ok, then you're beautiful! All I had to do was type in "beauty" on google images, and all that popped up was women who filled that mold.

There is so much more beauty to the world. Do you realize how much of this world was made beautiful simply because God knew we'd like it? He could have made the world in blacks and grays. But He didn't. He painted skies of deep blue and He swirled pinks and reds and purples into a sunset.

He could have made flowers without their beautiful scent. But He didn't. He poured fragrance into them because He knew that we'd love to smell them. And He wanted to take delight in our delight. Do you know how often God waits for you to take notice of His creation so that He can find joy in your pleasure? What beauty is found in His creation! He made us each individually and uniquely because beauty is unique to each person. He gave us all different talents and gifts because He knew we'd find joy in each others' gifts as well! The song you love to listen to on repeat? He gave that singer his voice because He wanted you to enjoy it. That painting that makes you catch your breath? He gave that artist her hand to paint so that you could stop and look at it. That child that has the laugh to make your heart stop? He filled that child with it so that you would be touched by it. That hill you love to sled down? He created it knowing how much you'd laugh as you slid down it. He loves when His children have fun! 

 

Everything God did, He had us in mind. I love just imagining Him in the creation process, thinking about me. Thinking about you. "She'll like this," and "I can't wait until he's born so that I can watch him smile from this." I was driving down a scenic road the other day, and my heart was just bursting because of the beauty around me. I said, "God, You're so beautiful!" And He responded, "I love watching you take delight in My beauty!" He says that for all of us.

Our delight is His delight.

The Best Is Yet To Come...

This Moment...Every Moment

All your pain will be made Mine

All your troubles, the tears you cry

Give it up, all that binds

I will place it on My shoulders

And up this hill I'll climb

Father, give Me strength

I know there is no other way

I lay down My life for you

This is the moment when all will be made new

I know that you don't understand

But this is part of a greater plan

So I lay down My life for you

This is Love that had to bleed

To bring you mercy, to set you free

You are Mine, I am yours

And I will wear your burdens

Just like this crown of thorns

Give Me all your pride

Give Me all your fears

Give Me all your secrets

Give Me all your tears

Give Me all your doubts

Give Me all your shame

Watch them wash away

Watch them wash away

I will take your place

I know there is no other way

I lay down My life for you

This is the moment when all will be made new

I know that you don't understand

But this is part of a greater plan

So I lay down My life for you

Though I know that you don't understand

These scars are part of a greater plan

And I lay down My life for you

Arms stretched out upon this tree

To show true Love

To set you free

I heard this song today and was moved to tears (Me? Cry? Unbelievable...) As Christians, we know that God sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for us so that we might believe in Him and be saved. Whether we grew up knowing the Bible, or have just started reading it, we know the truths inside it. Sometimes though, I think that, because we hear them so often, and because we've believed them and known them for so long, that these truths become just...background noise. We nod and say our "amen", but tune out at the same time because we've "heard it all before."

This is why God is constantly wanting us to dig in deeper with Him, because He always has new secrets and mysteries and truths that He wants to reveal to us and share with us. But I also believe that He wants to remind us of the "old truths" again and again throughout our walk with Him. He wants to reignite the "basics" in us. That's what He did to me tonight through this song.

Jesus was the Son of God, yes. But He was also a man. He felt emotion. He experienced pain in all forms. He grew up in the world. I wonder if sometimes, we belittle His experience at the cross and all that led up to it. I wonder if we think, because He was fully God and fully man, He didn't feel pain as much as a normal person would. I wonder if we think, because He was sent to Earth to die, that He wasn't afraid. He must have been perfectly happy and willing to go through excruciating pain and brutality because it was His purpose.

That's trash.

Jesus felt every ounce of pain that He went through in all of its severity and deepness. And we know that He wanted another way to save us. He prayed to His Father in Heaven, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Jesus knew that His Father could do anything. Even create a different way to save the world. And He wanted it! But He also knew that His Father's way was best, and He surrendered His life to obey His Father. 

And so, Jesus layed down His life. For you. For me. Who else can that be said about? He died so that I could live. He hung on the cross because He knew that through it, all things would be made new. Not just in that moment, but in every moment from then on! The cross wasn't just for then. It's for now. All we will ever need is at the foot of the cross. That means that every moment I need healing, I can find it at the cross. Every moment I need comfort, I can find it at the cross. Every moment that I need things made new, I can find it at the cross. In His presence, all things are made new. So every time I enter His presence, I'm made new in some way. That's crazy! That's beautiful! 

That moment that Jesus gave up His life...was done for every moment after.

This moment.

And this moment.

And this one.

And this one.

How can I not use every moment for Him when He gave His life so that I could have life? Without Him, I wouldn't even have a life to even consider giving to Him! Ah, He's so good! There are no words to describe! I need a language as large as this longing inside!

How are you living your moments? Are you just a fan or admirer of Christ? That won't cost you anything. But if you're a follower of Christ, it's going to cost you everything. Look at your life: what are you paying?



The Best Is Yet To Come...