Matters of the Heart.

I just finished watching Enchanted for the first time, and found it to be a perfectly lovely movie. Unfortunately I found myself (as I usually do at this type of movie) wishing that I could be wonderfully swept off my feet into a similar whirling romance. That wonderful fluttery feeling just took over. And I was left attempting to make sense of its emotional aftermath.

I asked the typical questions. Why don’t I have that? How long do I have to wait for the romance? Will I ever find “true love”? What will I do if it’s not meant for me? I’ve asked these questions before. I’ll probably ask them again. Because finding that “true love,” being romantically whisked off my feet, getting married, having children: that’s such a huge part of my hopes and dreams. I wasn’t one of those kids who just knows that when they grow up they’re going to be a veterinarian, or firefighter. The only thing I’ve known I want to be is a mommy.

That’s not bad either. Those are perfectly good hopes and dreams for my future. The problem comes in when I let them take over. When I watch too many romantic, fairytale-endings, movies (even ones as silly as Enchanted) and make those dreams more important than Gods will for my life. I remember the cry of the beloved in Song of Songs in 2:7, 3:5, and 8:4 where she says “Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you; Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”

After watching Enchanted, thinking romantic thoughts, and wishing I could be a princess like that, I calmed down and listened. God reminded me of how great His love for me is, that Jesus Christ died and rose again, so that I might be able to be with God, and glorify Him for eternity. That He has revealed some of his wonder to us through the Word, and that he has helped me to find my deepest joy, and purest satisfaction through glorifying Him. That is so much better than a fairy tale. It’s real.


Earlier today I was reading A Chance to Die: The life and legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elizabeth Elliot. Before stepping onto the mission field, Amy knew she wasn’t going to marry. Elliot says of her, “she had given over all matters of the heart to Him to whom alone hers was open.” I need to do that too. God asks us to trust Him in every part of our lives, including the heart.

I want to fall madly in love with my King. I want to be content, to be joyful, if those dreams aren’t in His plan for me, because I know that if He wants me to be on my own for the rest of my life, it will be best.

I also take comfort in this passage. Luke 11:9-13 says “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for and egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” God will not reject my desire for closer communion with him. He will not turn me away from following His will.


I love poetry, so I will leave you with Christ is All from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions.

"O Lover to the uttermost,
May I read the meltings of thy heart to me
In the manger of thy birth
In the garden of thy agony
In the cross of thy suffering
In the tomb of thy resurrection,
In the heaven of thy intersection.
Bold in this thought I defy my adversary,
Tread down his temptations,
Resist his scheming,
Renounce the world,
Am valiant for truth.
Deepen in me a sense of my holy relationship to thee,
As a spiritual Bridegroom,
As Jehovah’s Fellow,
As sinners’ Friend.
I think of thy glory and my vileness,
Thy majesty and my meanness,
Thy beauty and my deformity,
Thy purity and my filth,
Thy righteousness and my iniquity.
Thou hast loved me everlastingly, unchangeably,
May I love thee as I am loved;
Thou hast given thyself for me,
May I give myself to thee;
Thou hast died for me,
May I live to thee
In every moment of my time,
In every movement of my mind,
In every pulse of my heart.
May I never dally with the world
And its allurements,
But walk by thy side,
Listen to thy voice,
Be clothed with thy graces,
And adorned with thy righteousness."