Choice.

It is safe to say that we have been bombarded for months with the importance of the “choice” Americans are making today, November 8, 2016. The weight of this choice has caused the most division and anxiety that I’ve ever seen in our country in my mere 24 years of life. In the spirit of transparency, I will be the first to admit that I’ve struggled with this election. I’ve avoided the news and social media because I have wanted to avoid the chaos and hatred. I’ve worried about the future of our country and the uncertainty of the days to come. I’ve prayed for the hearts of Americans to change and be drawn towards God. This election has been a true test of faith for me, and I know I am not alone in that trial. Today I’ve realized that in the big picture of life, my choice for president of the United States is really pretty small. I feel in my heart that I need to share my thoughts on a few other important choices that we all have to make in the days to come.

You have made your choice and cast your vote for president of the United States, but we have another choice to make tomorrow. As followers of Christ, we have to make the choice on a day by day, moment by moment basis to put our complete faith and complete trust in God and His sovereignty. After the ballots are in and the results are announced, we have a choice in how we react. What would it look like if we decided to live out our faith, pray for our elected leaders, and love those around us? 1 Timothy 2:1-4 gives us the following command, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” God knew a long time ago who was going to win the 2016 election. Our purpose in life is not to place our security in a political leader. Our purpose in life is to know God, trust God, glorify God in our words and deeds, and to share the good news of the gospel with everyone on this planet.

Regardless of the outcome, we have the choice to pray for the leaders of our country. Even if you do not agree with who is elected, I urge each of you to be persistent in prayer for our country and our leaders. The Bible has numerous stories of how God has touched the hearts of kings and leaders throughout history. In the book of Ezra, the Lord “stirred up the spirit” of Cyrus the king of Persia and allowed for the reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem, fulfilling the promise He made to his people. Proverbs 21:1 states, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water, He turns it wherever He wishes.” God CAN intercede in the hearts of our leaders. He can give them wisdom and discernment. Pray without ceasing, friends.

Here’s the thing. The president of the United States can’t offer us the security and hope that we have in Jesus Christ. The absolute most important choice that any of us will ever make is the choice to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our creator and our father in Heaven loves us more than we can comprehend. He loves with the kind of love that says, “I will die for you so that I can spend forever in eternity with you.” When we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, we trade our temporary home on this Earth for an eternal citizenship in Heaven. I pray that if anyone reading this has not accepted Christ as their savior that God stirs their heart towards Him.

In the uncertainty of this election season I pray that people see that security, hope, and love cannot be found outside of a relationship with God. I pray that those of us who follow Christ can lead others to Christ by our unwavering faith. I pray that each of us makes the daily choice to trust God in ALL circumstances and love others the way that he does. I pray for God glorifying change in our country. Above all, I pray that each day, I choose Him. 

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people he chose for his inheritance.
¹³ From heaven the Lord looks down
    and sees all mankind;
¹⁴ from his dwelling place he watches
    all who live on earth—
¹⁵ he who forms the hearts of all,
    who considers everything they do.

¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army;
    no warrior escapes by his great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
    despite all its great strength it cannot save.
¹⁸ But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
¹⁹ to deliver them from death
    and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
²² May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
    even as we put our hope in you. 

-Psalm 33:12-22

Saying Yes to God's Best

Yesterday a friend asked me how I knew Taylor was “the one.” It was a harder question than I thought it would be to answer, because it is hard to put into words the peace that God gave me during that time of our lives. As today marks 1 year from the day that Taylor asked me to spend forever with him, I thought there was no better time to share this part of our story.

Taylor & I had a whirlwind dating experience. We went on our first date April 18, 2015. We said, “I love you”, 3 weeks later. 6 weeks into dating, Taylor had talked to my parents and was hiding an engagement ring in his sock drawer. 3 and a half months of dating later, Taylor asked me to be his wife on August 15^th, 2015. I look back all the time and remember the day I told my mom that I didn’t trust myself to know if someone was the one. I had a clouded mindset on love due to failed relationships and painful lessons. I told her that God was just going to have to know for me, because there was no way that I would ever know on my own. And let me tell you, God knew. God knew a long time ago. God knew every lesson I had to learn, mistake I had to make, every prayer that had to be prayed for me to have an open heart to see the man that He had picked out for me in eternity to spend my life with.

Before dating Taylor, relationships made me a big ball of anxiety and insecurity. I never felt like I could be 100% myself because just maybe that other person wouldn’t accept me for who I was, or I would be too much for them to handle. I was constantly comparing myself to ex-girlfriends of the past and I would spend all of my time trying to be the perfect girlfriend, which quite frankly is exhausting and overwhelming. I found myself praying to God justifying the wrong relationships, as if God would bend His will to mine because of my perceived “good reasons.” I never knew of this mythical peace you were supposed to have in the right relationship and started to doubt that it really existed.

So back to my friend’s question…knowing Taylor was the one. I could list all of the qualities of my husband that I am attracted to, that made me fall in love with him. Taylor is an incredible man. He has a wonderful family, he is an extremely hard worker, he loves the Lord, he is strong in his faith in areas that I am weak, he never fails to make me laugh, and he is extremely compassionate. When I started to think about how I was going to answer my friend’s question, the qualities that describe Taylor aren’t what jumped into my mind as the reason he was “the one”. I knew Taylor was the one because of the peace I felt about him and about our relationship.

Taylor & I started our relationship with a lot of talking, and a lot of praying. Of course there was instant attraction and chemistry, but we both were at a point in our lives where we wanted to make sure that dating was what God wanted, not just what we wanted. We both continually prayed, “God, if this is your will – make it obvious!” I remember having conversations with Taylor before we “officially” started dating about how things were going so well, and it would be really hard if God told us no. We kept putting our relationship in God’s hands, and asking Him to lead us towards the next steps. When Taylor asked me to be his girlfriend, we both knew that we were going to get married. Finally, I understood that peace and that “when you know, you know” feeling. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” With Taylor, I wasn’t praying anxious prayers anticipating and trying to prevent the worst. We were both thanking God for the relationship He had blessed us with and asking for His wisdom on the next steps for us. I never felt anything but peace with Taylor. I never doubted him. Saying yes to forever with Taylor was the easiest decision I ever made.

I don’t want to discount the importance of dating with discernment. Date someone that loves the Lord. Date someone who shares your vision for the future. Date someone that is your best friend. But, trust God to lead you to this person. Even when it is hard – keep the faith that God’s plan is so, so good. Pray for God’s will in your relationship. Trust His timing, and experience the peace that only He can bring.

God picked Taylor to be “the one” for me a long time ago, and everything about our relationship is part of His story. We are just blessed to share the same chapter.

What Walking Around Target Taught me About Love

Tonight I walked through Target hand in hand with my fiancé Taylor, tissue paper for my bridal party gifts, and a Starbucks caramel Frappuccino. This probably sounds like a typical Tuesday errand night to a lot of people, but as Taylor & I walked aimlessly through the aisles laughing at things for sale and talking about our dreams of our future home together, my thoughts kept circling back to a very similar night about a year ago. That is when the realization hit me.  God taught me about love through a walk around Target and a Starbucks cup.

Since I realize this connection doesn’t make much sense, let me back track a little bit and tell you about Taylor. Taylor is the most wonderful human being I have ever met. After years of telling my family and friends that the right guy would have to “step it up” and “pursue me” because I wasn’t about to change who I was and become some flirty, bold girl that I’m not – Taylor was that guy. He asked me to go on a date. Not to hang out at a bar. Not to chill and watch a movie. But take me on a real date, where we were able to talk to each other and get to know each other’s personalities, goals, careers, families and values. Did I also mention he drove 45 minutes to my parents’ house to pick me up?

One of our early dates consisted of going to Target, getting Starbucks, and walking around. This was about a week after our first date. That week in between was full of late night phone calls and being thankful for coffee at work, since we spent more time on the phone than sleeping. After all that time spent talking, during our three hour walk around Target Taylor didn’t hold my hand. He didn’t kiss me when he said goodbye. And this is when I realized that God was teaching me about love the way He intended for it to be, before our “Swipe Right” world perverted one of God’s most beautiful gifts to us on this Earth. Taylor purposefully chose to treat me like this. Not because he didn’t like me, but because he respected me. Because he saw me as a daughter of God before he saw me as an object of his affection. Because he valued a relationship with my soul more than he valued knowing my body.

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude, it does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong doing, bur rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

When I look at the most well-known verse on love in the Bible, I see it so beautifully illustrated in the early days of Taylor & I’s dating relationship. Taylor & I were patient and took time to get to know each other’s souls, not each other’s bodies. He never had an attitude of arrogance or expectation, but an attitude of respect, chivalry, and servitude. We took the time to talk about what we felt like God’s way of dating was, not our own ways as humans.

I knew that I was in love with Taylor before he ever kissed me. 4 months later he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. The foundation we established early on is the love we learned from God that bears the trials we face in life, believes in the perfect plans the Lord has for us, remains hopeful in this crazy world, and endures throughout our entire lives.

As Taylor & I finished up our trip tonight, God just really put it on my heart to share this little story. My prayer is that maybe someone reads it and it speaks to them personally. That the girl wondering if and when God is ever going to write their love story is encouraged that waiting for a man who is going to love them the way God intends is so incredibly worth it. That the guy wondering how to even go about pursuing a girl in our society is reminded that doing it right is meaningful and glorifies the Lord. And that just maybe, someone who doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior realizes that the greatest love story was already written many, many years ago on a Cross. We love only because of the tremendous love He has for us.