Falling in Love...

...anyone who's ever done it would probably say that it's one of the best feelings in the world. Whether the relationship worked out or not, the actual falling in love part of it is amazing. When we fall for someone, we fall for everything about them−their personality, looks, talents, flaws, voice, laugh, smile, everything. All we can do is think about them; they begin to consume our brain. We entertain our mind with the thought of spending forever with that person and begin to feel a sense of security that someone loves us back. The problem is that with humans, sometimes we discover that the person we fell in love with is not who we thought they were or this person doesn't love us in the same way we loved them. Rom-coms and Nicholas Sparks novels may make us believe otherwise, but this earthly kind of love is not all it's made out to be.

Don't get me wrong, God has a person set aside for each of His followers that will love them right and that will make them beyond happy. But even these Christ-centered, strong relationships have their flaws and aren't as perfect as we imagine them to be. What I'm getting at is that no earthly love−good or bad, healthy or unhealthy−compares to the love that our Heavenly Father has for us.

For the past few months, I have learned what it is like to fall in love with God. It's not just this cliche phrase to me anymore. I've heard time and time again testimonies where people were changed by God and "fell in love with Him." But now I know for myself that falling in love with God is truly one of the best feelings in the world. Here are the main three changes that have occured within me as I have fallen in love with God and continue to do so:

• When we fall in love with Him, we stop asking and start praising. We don't constantly think about all that He can do for us and He can give us, but instead we begin to appreciate all He has done for us and all the glorious things He has created. We actually take the time to stop and look at the beauty around us and realize that it's all God's doing. We stop and look at the sunrise and tell God "Wow, you're beautiful." We stop and listen to the laughter of our little brother and give him a big hug and thank God for such a blessing in our life. We stop and look up during worship in church and see all the people around us singing praises out to our creator and we thank God for a sense of community and for tangible proof of His love for us. The list could go on and on; these are just a few particular things I began to notice as I fell in love with God.
• When we fall in love with God, we begin to think of the glory of heaven more often than troubles of this earth. We know that our life on earth is merely a vapor. Our short time here doesn't even compare to the eternity we will get to spend with our creator in Heaven. So why spend our whole life focused on earthly things? Why try to make our lives here on earth so comfortable and so perfect when truly our home is in Heaven. When we fall in love with God, we know that one day we will stand at Heaven's gates, free of all the evils, hardships, and sin of this world. Nothing else matters in our life but how we devote it to God. We are to spend our time here on earth preparing to go home to our Father in Heaven. We know that our Heavenly throne awaits us and that our life on earth doesn't even compare to it, no matter how blessed or fortunate we are. And we should desire to make this known to as many people as we can in our time on earth. People who are in love with God know that there is nothing better than being in a relationship with Him and desire for others to expirience it to. They spend their whole life spreading the Good News and serving those around them.

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." Philippians 3:20-21

• When we fall in love with God, we long to do His will alone. My life used to be a comfortable mixture of doing some of what I wanted along with doing some of what God wanted of me, just enough to feel like I was a good person. I ignored God any time I felt Him calling me to do something out of my comfort zone and only did good deeds to avoid feeling guilty. But when I began to fall in love with God, I couldn't just ignore what He was telling me to do anymore, even if it was scary and uncomfortable. I started to realize that He is so much wiser than I am and His path for me is the best possible way to go. As I discovered more about what He'd done for me and how much He loves e, I began to long and thirst to serve Him. My days of ignoring Him when He was calling me turned into begging Him to guide me where to go next. I still sin and have selfish desires, but now the sole purpose of my life is to follow Him, not to make my own comfortable plans for myself.

I am by no means claiming that those who are in love with God are perfect in any way or that falling in love with God will make your life perfect. I simply mean that falling in love with God is the absolute best feeling in the world, and unlike it often does when we fall in love with humans, the feeling doesn't fade away. In fact, it increases. The more we begin to know God, draw nearer to Him, and essentially fall in love with Him, the more joyful and fulfilling our lives will become.

I look back at my life before I gave my heart to God and see that I was missing out on so much. I am living, breathing proof that God's love outshines absolutely everything and would love to share with anybody all the great things He's done for me and that I have learned since falling in love with Him. So if you are alone this valentine's day, hit me up and we can talk about the greatest love story of all time. Or just crack open your bible and read about it yourself. Happy valentine's day everyone! :)


"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." Ephesians 3:14-19