Taken

This one is for all my lovely sisters. Men- you can read it too and I hope you do. Just be aware that it's focused towards the ladies. :) 

Hello beautiful sisters!
I am so glad that you have stumbled across (or were forced by myself) to read this. I had this sweet experience in Adoration the other night and it doesn't feel right to not share it with as many women as possible.
For those of you who may not know, I am a huge journaler. I can spend a solid hour writing. It all started in high school when my youth minister encouraged me to start a prayer journal. I began simply writing my prayers and then whatever God would put on my heart. (Whether it was what He was actually trying to say or not is debatable.) That habit has faded, but I will still have moments in Adoration where I feel that God is calling me to write...so that's what I do. I whip out my journal and let the Holy Spirit guide my pen. Below is an excerpt from three nights ago. All credit goes to God.

November 25, 2012        Sunday- Feast of Christ the KING
Adoration~ 8:45 pm
"I love you so much that I come down and kiss your bloody wounds. I came to die for you. I live and reign so that you may continue to know this love. Come, adore Me and I will mend your broken heart. I will wipe away the tears and wash the blood from your wounds. I will make you new. You are My child. Give it all to Me and I will show you love that no one on earth can give. Come, be my bride. Worship Me. My love is all that satisfies. Your heart was made for Me. Lay it down and I will lift you up....I came for your brokenness. I have felt your pain. I know your heart and I will never let go of it. It is held in My hands. Trust Me and bring Me all you have. I love you and you are Mine."

Rewind! Come, be my bride. I remember refusing to write those words at first. They scared me. I thought "God...what are you telling me? That's scary. No way. Just lead me to the next thing you need me to hear and I'll write that instead." Not happening. Not sure if you've ever noticed, but God rarely lets us win arguments. He wasn't letting me get off that easy so down it went...in ink. I wrote that entry and shut my journal. I didn't reread it until last night. I didn't even think about it. That's what I do. I write and only read what I wrote if I feel a need to. Well, last night I felt that it needed to be reread.

I am reading this book called "Restoring Broken Things" by Steven Curtis Chapman and Scotty Smith. It is blowing my mind. I usually read a chapter at a time and then stop. For some reason, the other night I stopped mid-chapter and fell asleep. (This will make sense...promise.) I picked it back up in Adoration last night after a highly emotional/stressful evening. The first thing I read is this:

"We belong to our beloved Bridegroom. Christians are, above all else, the Bride of Jesus. Our hearts, along with everything else, have already been fully spoken for."

 I dropped immediately to my knees. My journal entry from last night explains why. I am going to change it up a little bit so that it can apply to everyone, but all of the content is still there.

November 27, 2012       Tuesday
Adoration- 8:45 pm (Note the time that this was written and my entry on Sunday was written. Apparently good things happen at 8:45 pm in Adoration.)
"It is all making sense now. Why and how did it take me this long to put it all together? God is fitting the pieces together. "Our hearts, along with everything else, have already been fully spoken for." Spoken for by Jesus Christ, Love itself. Why do we, as women, think we can give our hearts away? Our hearts are not ours to give. They do not belong to us at all. He has already claimed our heart as His own.
"Christians are, above all else, the Bride of Jesus." Through our birth, we are the bride of Jesus. We wait for marriage and love when, in fact, we have always been loved and our hearts are married to the One that made them. We seek love. We yearn to give our hearts to someone. Why?! Love is here. Love is now. Our hearts already belong to Someone. The only Someone that truly matters. Why are we not loving Him as our beloved spouse? Why are we not giving Him all of ourselves? Why are we not doing every single thing for Him as if HE is our spouse? As a Christian and as a woman, our hearts are already married to the most loving man to ever exist, Jesus Christ. We are ill-deserving and unworthy, yet He still chose us. We must live for Him. This is the example of true love. This is what a marriage should be...a giving of one's heart to the Almighty King of Kings. May His Name be forever praised."

My mom is probably reading this and freaking out. I am NOT thinking about getting married anytime soon. Relax. That is the last thing on my mind. But there is a serious lesson to be learned. I'm starting to see why 3 days ago God made my pen scribble those words that are terrifying to someone who really isn't ready for any form of commitment right now. I need to start understanding what Christ means when he says "Come, be my bride." At this very moment in my life that means, "Come, love me with all of your heart. Give me everything and I will take care of you and stand by you." Why wouldn't we say yes to that?  Women, let me tell you something. We were made with such beautiful hearts, even if those hearts do get caught up in things other than Christ from time to time. It is part of the beauty that comes with being a woman. Our hearts were made to love and to be loved. Our hearts are sacred and they are meant to be treasured. So, whether you are in a relationship with a man or not, I am praying that you will be His bride above all else. I pray that you will let Him win you over and have your heart. May you see that you are loved by a man who already gave His life for you. I pray that you will never settle for a love that is less than this. Christ is actively pursuing you. Stop running. Love is waiting for you.

For His Glory,
Steph