MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART FOUR: EVEN SO COME

“Like a bride waiting for her groom | We’ll be a Church ready for You | Every heart longing for our King | We sing | Even so, come!”

“Even So Come” by Passion Worship Band

It’s amazing where we can find God sometimes. A sunset. A word from a friend. A song on the radio. A sign on the side of the road. A blog post (hopefully 😊)….

I find Him in a love story that looks non-existent to the world.

If you’ve been following my last three posts, you know I take this romance thing pretty seriously. Originally it was the one thing I wouldn’t give to God because I was afraid of what He would do with it (Post 1). Then it became the main point I had to surrender to Him when Jesus became Lord of my life (Post 2). And finally, once in total control, God gave it back to me in a stronger, more devoted love for my Future Husband than I ever thought possible—so devoted I won’t even go on a date unless I have a strong green light from the Holy Spirit that the potential guy may very well be “the one”. To say my Love Story is different is an understatement; certifiably insane might come a little closer in many people’s minds. And yet, as I ended Post 3 by saying, I have found something on this lonely road I would have never found any other way. Something exceedingly precious. A sacred treasure.

I have gotten a glimpse of what it means to be the Bride of Christ.

Now, just hang in with me here. What I’m not saying is I have some super-spiritual, meta-physical, downright-weird connection with God no one else can have: as if I were some kind of cross between a nun and a goddess. No, I’m talking about the relationship referred to in Scripture between Jesus and all of His people, where He is our Savior and we are His Church—He is our Husband and we are His Bride. How this all works is a mystery too large for my finite mind to understand (let alone expound in one tiny blog post), but somehow we humans who trust in God become the “Apple of His eye”, “His jewels”, His “Special Treasure”—His “Bride”—while He becomes our “Groom”, our “Lord”, our “Husband”. Our wait for His return has felt long at times and many mock us for sacrificing so much for someone we’ve never seen, yet, for those who remain faithful to Him, Jesus is coming back one day: to this earth on a white horse to destroy our enemies and sweep us off our feet, marry us at the “Wedding Supper of the Lamb”, and take us home to His Kingdom to live happily ever after (no joke! Read Revelation 19-22).

And waiting for my Earthly Husband has helped me understand all this in a way nothing else could.

You see, I know what kind of a struggle it is to stay faithful to someone you’ve never seen. Whose voice you’ve never heard. Whose hand you’ve never touched. Whose face you’ve never beheld. And yet whose person—even just the thought of them—fills you with more joy than a thousand “cute” boyfriends or millionaire husbands ever could. To wait with expectancy for his coming as days and weeks stretch into years and decades; to fight to believe he will come when everything you’re looking at in the natural world screams the opposite. To fall asleep in an empty bed praying for him. To cling to hope even as you choke on the bitterness of your own tears. To ache, to long, to believe beyond belief, to watch, to pray, to stay awake because you don’t want him to find you sleeping. Willing to sacrifice everything just because you want him to know he was worth it: worth the waiting, worth lost sleep, worth denying yourself, worth bypassing temporary pleasure, worth looking like a fool, worth the heartache, worth the pain, worth the rejection, worth the misunderstanding, worth the suffering…worth everything the love of him cost you—and infinitely more!

And He is.

Do you know what that’s like?

Is that how you wait for Jesus?

Is that how I wait for Jesus?

If I never marry an earthly man, I am forever grateful for what this journey has taught me. And not just about waiting or agonizing or suffering well…

But about expectancy.

Especially over the last couple of years, my understanding of the power of expectant preparation in waiting for my Husband has just exploded. What kind of faith does it show in the promises of God or in my belief in Him bringing my Husband to me if I wait but never prepare? If I just sit at the window, hands in my chin, waiting for “Prince Charming” to come sweep me up onto his white horse…but never actually do anything to show I believed he was actually going to show up? For me, that has meant learning skills I know a wife and mother will need to know, pressing into the Word of God and letting Him teach me what a Godly woman looks like, yielding to His Spirit to do that work in me on a practical level. Learning to be patient and kind with my family. Learning to honor the men in my life. Encouraging my brother. Working alongside my father. Serving others when it’s not convenient and I would rather be hibernating watching a movie. Choosing to smile at the person talking to me though I’m utterly exhausted. Singing softly to the baby screaming in my ear at the Church nursery. Learning to manage a budget when I’m not naturally inclined to numbers. Giving extravagantly when my bank balance is running low. Listening to wise council from married couples I admire (emphasis on “wise”: all counsel is not created equal!). Learning to speak when I would rather stay silent. Learning to stay silent when I would rather run my mouth. Strengthening my body. Cultivating my mind. Honing my emotions…

Preparing with expectancy.

Can you see where this is going?

If I never get married to an earthly man, what I have learned about how we—how I—should be waiting for the return of our Heavenly Bridegroom through all of this is beyond measure in its worth. To wait, yes. To wait with tears. To wait with agony. To not forget Him even if no one else cares or seems to notice. To believe in Him even when others say He’s a fantasy. To stay true to Him even if people say I’m a fool. And more…

To prepare for His return with faith-infused expectancy.

To stay awake. To cling to His Word. To pray always. To give thanks in all things. To keep His commandments for the love of the One Who spoke them. To let His Holy Spirit fill me every moment of every day. To love my neighbor as myself. To bring justice. To show mercy. To defend the truth. To surrender to love. To never compromise in the face of Evil. To lay my life down for the one Evil is using to hurt me. To live my life in such a way that no one ever, ever, has to ask where my allegiance lies.

I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.

These are the lessons of my Love Story so far—almost twenty years in the unfolding. How many more years await me before my Husband finally comes? I don’t know. Maybe one. Maybe two. Maybe ten or twenty more. Maybe a month from now. Maybe a week. It could happen tomorrow. It could even happen tonight. Only God knows the answer for sure. But one thing I do know beyond any shadow of any doubt, with all my heart, with everything inside of me: when that moment comes, I want to be found waiting, faithful, expectant, prepared.

And I hope my Earthly Husband finds me that way, too.

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me…”

~ JESUS CHRIST

AMEN. EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS! (Revelation 22)

Live EPIC,

CHRISTIS JOY