Dreams in the Sky



 Thinking of lace and flowers, cake and rings...

Dreaming of the one whom I shall give my heart to, the one whom I will walk down the aisle with, the one who I shall love all the days of my life.

Um, wait. Did I just say all the days of my life?

So, that means every day... even before I even know that special him? Yes, dear friends, it's true.

"She does him good, and not harm,
    all the days of her life."

Proverbs 31:12

In my thoughts now. My actions now. My feelings now.

But you may ask, "Well, how would I bring him harm?"... and that is what I want to talk about. As women, created in God's sight as beautiful and precious, we have that God-given desire to love, and to show love and comfort to people. Yet sin has twisted that love and made it an idol, in which all we do is dream about who that special "Mr." is whom we can love. {Or can I say fall in love with us and sweep us off our feet?}  So we get carried away... start dreaming, and often fall into seeing us stand up alongside a certain young man we know. Maybe he's cute, or funny, or really nice. Today, we call that a "crush". You know that you want to save your heart for one man, but sometimes it's hard not having those feelings... those dreams for you and him. And what if it is that young man? Maybe that is why God has placed him in your life, right?

Well, not exactly. :)

See, this is a part of loving your husband all the days of your life. It is saving your heart, affections, and thoughts just for him. We don't know who that special someone is, and until the Lord reveals it to us, we need to keep our heart and thoughts pure. But it's hard, isn't it? How can we put aside these feelings, so that we can do good to our husbands all the days of our life?

Here's a few concepts that have truly helped me and strengthened me as I strive to live in purity.

•Seek God's will above your own

So many times we focus so much on ourselves, that we forget to whom we truly belong and live for.

We think about me.. and me ... and my life... and my dreams.. and, well, we lose our heavenly focus.

Yet by asking the Lord to turn our hearts ever more to Him, our priorities shift and our desires are changed to what He desires.

• Remember that we do not have a claim over the certain young man.

We may think "Oh yes, this ones mine. I have every right! I've known him since first grade, have done so many things together, etc." We have to remember that this may be someone else's husband, and if we truly want to show the love of Christ, we must desire their personal good, not our's. If we see the young men around us as someones husband, or as if they were already married {for God has ordained our future}, then we will be able to guard our hearts and keep our thoughts pure.

• Don't build castles in the sky

By dreaming of what house you and him are going to buy, where you are going to go on your honeymoon, and thoughts like that, you are building something that may never even happen. This ends in heartbreak and pain as we see that they never really thought of a relationship with us. And when we start dreaming and planning our life together, it is almost as if our brain goes out the window in that we fail to realise what kind of man we want our husband to be and begin to "settle for less". We fall in love with our romantic fantasies and adventures, where we are always being saved by that special young man. Yet we fail to realise that He doesn't truly live for Christ.

        •Remember the bigger picture.

Is our life supposed to be about how much happiness, joy, and attention we can get out of this life?

Um, no. Sorry to disappoint you. :) As daughters of the Lord, our aim in life should be to live to bring Him glory and honor... to show His love and mercy to those around us, and to put others' interests before our own.Remembering that we are accountable to God for what we do in this life places us back on our feet and gives us a vision for more than our temporal happiness.

These thoughts have helped and encouraged me as I strive to live for my Heavenly Father... to keep my heart pure and to guard it. They have reminded me that if I truly desire to show God's love, I must seek a love that is patient and kind, selfless and forgiving, rather than a self glorifying love that is centered around {guess who!} me.

May these simple thoughts bless you and encourage you as you continue to walk this narrow path.

Blessings,

{All photos via Pinterest}

{Key points and thoughts taken from "Its' not that Complicated", a wonderful book by the Botkin sisters which I am in the middle of reading}