Who Needs Romance?

We ALL need romance. But I think where things go wrong sometimes is that we look for that romance in the wrong places. I can remember from Waaaayy back being a 'romantic' at heart. You know, the knight in shining armor, holding out for a hero, and all that. Remember the movie, "Pretty Woman?" The ending where he realizes he LOVES her and comes for her? What girl didn't cry and want that to happen to her? But as I've grown up and gained life experience, I've discovered that stuff like that generally only happens in the movies or paperback (I've heard stories, but none of my own). And they always leave off what happens AFTER the rescue and roses.

As I was preparing this post this morning, the song "At Seventeen" by Janis Ian came on and these words stuck with me:

"To those of us who knew the pain
Of valentines that never came
And those whose names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball
It was long ago and far away
the world was younger than today
when dreams were all they gave for free
to ugly duckling girls like me... "

I am the ugly duckling...most days. And this my biggest vulnerable area.

Face it. We have been fed a line of crap from Hollywood about romance. Our perception of it has been tainted. We've been trained to view romance as actual love - and you deserve it if your beautiful, but if not you can be the quirky sidekick. And when we don't receive romance we equate it to not being loved. We place too much romantic expectation on someone else and when they fall short it breaks our hearts. We all need true love first, and romance is a natural by-product from that love that fuels the flame in a relationship.


I'm sure 99% of you are familiar with John 3:16, "For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall have everlasting life..." God loves us, no doubt about that. But does he romance us?

(Adapted from "Captivating.") God's version of flowers and chocolates and candlelight dinners comes in the form of sunsets and falling stars, moonlight on lakes and cricket symphonies; warm wind, swaying trees, lush gardens and fierce devotion. This romancing is immensely personal-as if scripted for your heart alone. We have missed many of his notes simple because we shut our hearts down in order to endure the pain of life. Open your heart again to hear His whispers and receive His kisses. "...He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

Have you ever noticed God's romancing of you? Have you ever stopped to truly smell the roses, or watch a sunset (or sunrise)? Ever watched puppies at play or butterflies floating in mid-air? Ever seen a spider's web glistening with morning dew or smelled the freshness of a crisp Autumn morning? What about your favorite song? Did it touch your heart this morning? Have you let the sun warm you outside-in? Or what about the ripples of water the geese make in a lake. God just gave you moments of romance. Take a moment to thank and praise Him for it and rejoice that the Creator of the universe knows how to love you like you want to be loved.