Lily Whiteness and Romance
This is an excerpt from the book “Authentic Beauty” by Leslie Ludy. Her husband and she wrote “When God Write Your Love Story.” I think she gives such a great picture of what it means to wait on God. It is never easy, but it is always worth it. I heard this said one time “God is never late; He just misses a few good opportunities to be early.” Hahaha. God’s timing is always perfect. We have to learn to be satisfied in Christ Jesus first. Allow Him to fill you up, and heal all the broken places in your heart. I know what you’re about to read goes absolutely against EVERYTHING culture tells us as girls when it comes to relationship, but trust me, waiting on God is worth it. It was true for Eric and Leslie, and I could sit here and write story after story of how God is faithful to those who trust in him, especially in this area.
“It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desire which he created.” Amy Carmichael
So far this book had emphasized the vital importance of a love story with our true Prince being the centerpiece of our life, heart, actions, thoughts, and emotions. No human love story could ever remotely compare to what awaits us in our inner sanctuary of intimacy with Him. No human love story can ever reach its full potential unless it overflows from hearts completely surrendered and fully devoted to Him. It is all too easy to become distracted by our search for a human love story and to allow that desire to pull us away from our Prince…only when we fall in love with Jesus Christ and build our life completely around Him can we experience human, love and romance in its purest and most beautiful form.
The more time I spent with Jesus, the more I realized that my heartfelt yearning for human love and companionship was a desire that He Himself had given me. But as His lily-white princess, there were still many things that my Prince needed to teach me about the art of discovering true and lasting human love. I had been trained by the culture how to seek fulfillment in this area of my life. Time and time again I had ended up with a broken heart and a compromised conscience…the first step in finding a God-written love story began with me handing the pen to my Prince, the true Author of romance. I was no longer pursuing relationships on my own; I was waiting for Him to bring my future husband to me in His own perfect time and way.
I knew Jesus would be faithful, that He had a plan for this area of my life. But during the waiting process, my desire for human love did not disappear; it seemed only to increase. Waves of longing for a beautiful love story would almost overpower my emotions at times. It was at that moment that I knew I had to make a choice. I could either allow that desire to control me, or I could allow that desire to chase me deeper into the arms of Jesus Christ. (Side Note: Beth Moore said one time, and I echo her statement, “God gave me desperation as a gift.”) There were times when it would have been too easy to take matters into my own hands- for instance, by conveniently showing up at places where I knew there were plenty of cute, available, Christian young men and engage in a little “harmless” flirting to see where it might lead. But the stronger the temptation, the more I learned to draw even closer to Jesus. I learned not to battle these longings alone, but rather to pour out my deepest desires to Him. And when I did, I felt His tender whisper upon my heart, giving me promises about my future husband and teaching me how to successfully prepare for true love.
Growing up, commitment to my future husband had always been to simply save my physical purity for him. But just as I had learned to live a lifestyle of lily whiteness for my Prince, I soon realized that my commitment to my future husband needed to go far beyond just the physical realm. (This part of her story made me freak out…b/c when I was 18 years old in Panama City Beach at Big Stuf Camp, God used this same thing to show me that being faithful to the man I would someday marry is way more than just not having sex until your married. So what Leslie is about to say, the same thing happened to me.) One day I stumbled upon a verse in Proverbs 31, the chapter in the Bible that describes a wife of godly character. “She does [her husband] good and not evil. ALL the day of his life” (v.12 ; emphasis mine). The words tugged at my heart. I had always done the bare minimum for that mysterious person out there somewhere known as my future husband. But now, with the patient guidance of my Lord Jesus, I determined to live a life that would truly honor this man- to do him good not harm- even before he came into my life.
My inner being had become a sacred sanctuary for my Prince- and it was in this inner sanctuary that I learned to do the same for my future husband. I no longer pursued temporary relationships that chipped away at my heart, mind and emotions, and physical purity. Even in friendships with guys, I became extremely careful. I determined that the next time I would give any part of myself away would not be until I knew he was the man God had chosen for me to spend the rest of my life with. (I can relate to following as well) It was not always an easy commitment to keep, especially when a few amazing godly young men came into my life and became some of my very close friends. They were the first guys I’d ever met that actually resembled the kind of person I wanted to marry. I battled with the fear that if I didn’t try to “make something happen” with one of them, I would never find guys like that again. But honoring my future husband meant keeping my heart, emotions, body, and even my thought life in check; living a lifestyle of purity for him in every possible way. I felt assured that if Jesus had one of these particular guys in mind for me, He could orchestrate the love story in His own perfect way. In the meantime, my only job was to trust Him. And He was perfectly faithful!
“It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desire which he created.” Amy Carmichael
So far this book had emphasized the vital importance of a love story with our true Prince being the centerpiece of our life, heart, actions, thoughts, and emotions. No human love story could ever remotely compare to what awaits us in our inner sanctuary of intimacy with Him. No human love story can ever reach its full potential unless it overflows from hearts completely surrendered and fully devoted to Him. It is all too easy to become distracted by our search for a human love story and to allow that desire to pull us away from our Prince…only when we fall in love with Jesus Christ and build our life completely around Him can we experience human, love and romance in its purest and most beautiful form.
The more time I spent with Jesus, the more I realized that my heartfelt yearning for human love and companionship was a desire that He Himself had given me. But as His lily-white princess, there were still many things that my Prince needed to teach me about the art of discovering true and lasting human love. I had been trained by the culture how to seek fulfillment in this area of my life. Time and time again I had ended up with a broken heart and a compromised conscience…the first step in finding a God-written love story began with me handing the pen to my Prince, the true Author of romance. I was no longer pursuing relationships on my own; I was waiting for Him to bring my future husband to me in His own perfect time and way.
I knew Jesus would be faithful, that He had a plan for this area of my life. But during the waiting process, my desire for human love did not disappear; it seemed only to increase. Waves of longing for a beautiful love story would almost overpower my emotions at times. It was at that moment that I knew I had to make a choice. I could either allow that desire to control me, or I could allow that desire to chase me deeper into the arms of Jesus Christ. (Side Note: Beth Moore said one time, and I echo her statement, “God gave me desperation as a gift.”) There were times when it would have been too easy to take matters into my own hands- for instance, by conveniently showing up at places where I knew there were plenty of cute, available, Christian young men and engage in a little “harmless” flirting to see where it might lead. But the stronger the temptation, the more I learned to draw even closer to Jesus. I learned not to battle these longings alone, but rather to pour out my deepest desires to Him. And when I did, I felt His tender whisper upon my heart, giving me promises about my future husband and teaching me how to successfully prepare for true love.
Growing up, commitment to my future husband had always been to simply save my physical purity for him. But just as I had learned to live a lifestyle of lily whiteness for my Prince, I soon realized that my commitment to my future husband needed to go far beyond just the physical realm. (This part of her story made me freak out…b/c when I was 18 years old in Panama City Beach at Big Stuf Camp, God used this same thing to show me that being faithful to the man I would someday marry is way more than just not having sex until your married. So what Leslie is about to say, the same thing happened to me.) One day I stumbled upon a verse in Proverbs 31, the chapter in the Bible that describes a wife of godly character. “She does [her husband] good and not evil. ALL the day of his life” (v.12 ; emphasis mine). The words tugged at my heart. I had always done the bare minimum for that mysterious person out there somewhere known as my future husband. But now, with the patient guidance of my Lord Jesus, I determined to live a life that would truly honor this man- to do him good not harm- even before he came into my life.
My inner being had become a sacred sanctuary for my Prince- and it was in this inner sanctuary that I learned to do the same for my future husband. I no longer pursued temporary relationships that chipped away at my heart, mind and emotions, and physical purity. Even in friendships with guys, I became extremely careful. I determined that the next time I would give any part of myself away would not be until I knew he was the man God had chosen for me to spend the rest of my life with. (I can relate to following as well) It was not always an easy commitment to keep, especially when a few amazing godly young men came into my life and became some of my very close friends. They were the first guys I’d ever met that actually resembled the kind of person I wanted to marry. I battled with the fear that if I didn’t try to “make something happen” with one of them, I would never find guys like that again. But honoring my future husband meant keeping my heart, emotions, body, and even my thought life in check; living a lifestyle of purity for him in every possible way. I felt assured that if Jesus had one of these particular guys in mind for me, He could orchestrate the love story in His own perfect way. In the meantime, my only job was to trust Him. And He was perfectly faithful!
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Jacqueline