a season of "wooing"

Wooing. To "woo" someone is a verb; an action where someone is seeking to find affection with another individual and according to Webster, it usually ends in marriage. I always thought this was a funny word, but the thought of being "wooed" is actually rather intimate and personal.

Some of you may know that this semester I stepped out of my normal "personal" boundaries and actually let someone start to woo me. I have never been good with letting people in, out of fear of getting hurt, but this semester I did. I let someone pursue the thought of getting to know me on a more intimate level and I must say, that the pure thought that knowing someone so desperately wants to get to know you because they want to be with you forever is simply breathtaking. It's that type of thing where your heart kind of skips a beat when you know that someone truly desires to know your desires and makes an effort at speaking to you in your own love language.

I let this person take me out on weekly dates just the two of us and I truly seeked getting to know Him better too. [If the suspense is killing you as to who this mystery man is, just be patient...that is something that I have learned this semester; patience.] Anyways, tonight I took a break from studying and went on my last weekly date before the winter break with this man. It was simply amazing. We walked around the plaza drinking coffee and talking about, well personal stuff, and then ended the night in the Word. I don't know if I have ever felt more spoken to in awhile. OK OK, you have probably figured out that this mystery man is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by my capital "Him's" and talk of "seeking" each other; sorry, I just had to start this thing out a little more creative.

The point of this is: God is a God that truly seeks to be the lover of our souls. He wants to know the depths of us and our inner-most desires. He wants to be the center of our life and talk to us constantly throughout the day, not just before meals and as you crawl into bed. Getting to know Him this semester on an intimate level was seriously the most amazing thing I could have ever challenged myself to do. Talk about being "wooed," He is the ULTIMATE wooer; if that is even a word. Currently, as talked about in my previous blog, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing is my favorite song. I have been researching and breaking down every line in that song, trying to figure out why it has been sticking out to me. While on tonights little date, that song played to my heart instead of my head through my little, pink headphones. This is the main part that I heard: Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee...here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for the courts above. Then I realized; I am in love with this song because this is my desire: I want God to bind my heart to His, like a fetter. [a fetter are those iron shackles that were put around prisoners feet as to ensure they could not run away]. I want to give Him my heart and make sure that He helps me take care of it for when I go home to Him.

We are commanded to "guard our hearts for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23), but I don't think that meant to guard our hearts from Him. I know so many people that stay guarded even in their prayers out of fear that God will see them for who they really are or something crazy like that, let me tell you a secret: HE ALREADY KNOWS. Open up and let Him in. Embrace the love He so longingly wants to give you and allow for Him to change you into the woman or man that you are supposed to become in His image.

Better yet: Let Him take you out on a date. Say "yes" because He wants to woo you, now you just have to let Him...