When God Writes Your Love Story

So, today I opened up the book When God Writes Your Love Story by Eric and Leslie Ludy and I cannot put it down.  There is one part in the book, that I have read so far, that talks about giving everything in your life to God and letting him take control in providing what you need.  God loves us and wants us to give everything to Him.  He wants to have all of our worries, our needs, and our wishes.  He loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to attempt to figure out how to make our lives the way we want them to be, decide what is best for our lives, try to figure out what to do with our lives, and worry constantly.  He cares for us so much that He doesn’t want us to have to worry or doubt. He wants to make all of our decisions and help us live the life He has made for us.  Sounds easy, huh?!

Well, Eric and Leslie both talk about how they had to let areas in their life go and give it to God. It wasn’t easy for either Eric nor Leslie to do so and it isn’t an easy task for any of us to do so either.  But, when we do realize that God is all we need and that He will give us exactly what we need and sometimes even things that we want, it makes living this difficult worldly life much more simple. God provides for us so that we don’t have to worry or stress about things that will happen in the future or how we will end up getting things that we desperately want in the future….we just simply trust in God with all of our hearts and He gives us what we have longed for.

So, one of these huge areas in our lives, for everyone (married or not…), is relationships. Eric and Leslie both talk about their experiences and heartbreaks in trying to find for themselves what they thought was real love.

I wanted to take a part out of the book to share with you. This is Leslie talking about giving God control over her relationships…..

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“[I was through with the heartbreaks, giving myself away physically, and trying to please the opposite sex when it only ended in emptiness and breakups.] So I had given God the pen to write my love story. But practically, what did that mean for me on a daily basis? I was at the height of my “dating career” and not planning on marriage anytime soon.  Was I supposed to stop dating? Were friendships with guys okay?  How would I know when God wanted me to get into a relationship? When knowing adults asked me that infamous question, “So, Leslie, is there any special guy in your life right now?” what was I suppose to say? What did God want me to do?

During the weeks and months after my decision to allow God to be in control of this area of my life, another gentle message was being communicated to my heart by His still, small whisper.  It went something like this: Leslie, don’t try to build Me into your life anymore. Instead, build your life around Me.

It was true. I had tried to “fit God into my life” by praying each morning, reading my Bible every night, and attending church weekly.  Yet He was not the central focus of my daily life.  In reality I was only giving Him a few minutes of scattered attention here and there.  I finally came to the realization that unless I slowed down and made a genuine effort to seek Him instead of just being so consumed with my own ambitions, I would have a hard time discerning His will for me in any  
area.

So I embarked upon a journey to get to know my Creator. And truthfully, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I mean, I had gone from revolving my life around a whirlwind of social activities, friends, and dating relationships, to saying, “Lord, I’m going to lay all that aside and focus on You instead.” Not that those other things were necessarily wrong, but God was asking me to put my priorities straight.  My dating and social life had become so distracting that I could no longer hear His voice clearly.

As Elisabeth Elliot says in her book A Chance to Die (about the life of Amy Carmichael), “The preoccupations of seventeen-year-old girls—-their looks, their clothes, their social life—-don’t change much from generation to generation. But in every generation there seem to be a few who make other choices.  Amy Carmichael was one of the few.” And God was calling me to be one of those “few” as well. But I didn’t know how.

If You want this for me, Lord, You are going to have to help me, I silently told Him.

And He did! He met me right where I was and taught me about Himself.  I learned how to love Him with my whole heart, to seek Him earnestly, to listen to His voice on a daily basis, and to fall in love with His Word.  It was the most exciting time of my life!  It made the world of social frenzy I had come from seem incredibly empty. Daily I discovered more about who He is, and more about who He wanted me to become.  I started a journal—-and have kept it up to this very day—-in which I wrote desires, fears, and prayers to the Lord.  I also recorded anything I felt He might be teaching me, be it through Scripture or a gentle pull upon my heart.  Now when I look back at my old entries, I am amazed at how faithful He was to put every detail of my life in place at the perfect time. 

Yes, I lost some friends (but in reality they weren’t real friends, anyway). And yes, I lost popularity. Yet what I gained was priceless: Jesus Christ as my first love, my very Best Friend.

It may not seem that this part of my story has much to do with my relationship with Eric.  But it was the whole key. There are two reasons why letting Christ into this place in my life was the foundation of my love story with Eric.

1. I learned to lean on my relationship with Christ for my hope, joy, and security, rather than trying to find those things in a romantic relationship.  As close to Prince Charming as Eric is, he still is only human (a fact of which I still have to remind him from time to time!). If I had gone into my relationship with him looking for all my emotional needs to be met, I would have been disappointed. I wasn’t truly ready to begin a journey toward marriage with my future husband until I learned to find my hope and security in Christ alone.

2. Jesus Christ remained at the center of my relationship with Eric.  Jesus Christ was the passion of my heart when I met Eric Ludy.  Jesus Christ was the passion of Eric’s heart as well.  As a result, we were drawn together in friendship because of our mutual love for the Lord.  The more we spent time together, the more we grew closer to God through each other.  Whenever I discovered a new truth in the Word of God, I couldn’t wait to share it with Eric.  We spent hours talking about our Lord and our faith.  When we started to have deeper feelings than friendship for each other, God guided us each and every step as we began moving into a romantic relationship.  He remained at the center

Sometimes in a relationship, we can be so caught up in our feelings for the other person that we squeeze God into the background.  It becomes a confusing, emotional mess, and we wonder why God isn’t giving us more direction, when all the while He is there, waiting to be allowed back into first place in our hearts. Only when He is truly in first place are we ready for a God-written love story.” -Leslie Ludy, When God Writes Your Love Story pg. 65-68

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So, I encourage you to let God write your story. I encourage you to be patient and trust in God.  I encourage you to let Him show you what true love is. I encourage you to pray and seek His will and guidance for your life. I encourage you to grow closer to God and experience what it’s like to fall in love with Him. I encourage you to put Him first—-and then sit back and watch all the fantastic things He blesses you with in your life. I encourage you to wait. I encourage you to not give your heart away. I encourage you to start a prayer journal. I encourage you to pray for your future husband or wife. I encourage you to write them letters. I encourage you to read this book.

I know I’m only 22, which happens to be very young….and maybe you think I’m not experienced enough to know what I’m talking about.. but I want you to know that in every situation that I have given fully to God, I have been blessed way more than I even thought was possible because He knew exactly what I needed and exactly when to give it to me.

So, try it out. What do you have to lose?

Psalm 37:4

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

:)

Love God. Love People.