Thoughtful Thursday: True Love is Never Concrete. It is Always Unfolding.

The hard part is trusting in a God who loves us better than we can love ourselves, but whom we can’t seem to get to the bottom of. We think in order to love Him, we must know Him fully in a way that is concrete.

True love is never concrete. It is always unfolding. It’s why we awake to a new day and can think, I love my husband more today than I did yesterday, or, My heart could burst for my kids. I love them even more today than the day they were born. It is also why our hearts jump when we see our spouses—after years of marriage—make decisions that are different from their usual routines. Who is this man I thought I had figured out? I think of my own husband. Who is this man doing his own laundry? Who is this man disappearing for hours on end to ride his bike? Who is this man reaching out to hold my hand more often? 

We really can have two responses to such changes. We can be alarmed, reeling a bit in fright of a relationship we are far less in control of than we first assumed, or it can invigorate us, fanning the flame of love as we realize there is still more left to discover in our partners. What once seemed commonplace now has a spark of mystery. We are intrigued. 

The same is true of our interactions with the Divine. Will we grow fearful and suspicious, or will we be projected into a new spiritual dimension, a new awakening, a new relationship with the One we thought we had figured out. Are we willing to be surprised? Or, the even bigger question is, are we willing to wait for the next surprise without floundering and flipping out in the meantime? 

I think it’s the times in between revelations that really test our faith. I’ve experienced this with God. Faith has become dead or commonplace. I have simply lost connection with “It.” Can I have the peace of mind to wait for my next encounter with Him? To know that even though I don’t feel Him now in my life, His presence is just as sure as it has ever been. Can I trust that He is just arranging His next surprise? I must simply wait for the breathtaking unveiling.

~ Excerpt from Thrashing About with God: Finding Faith on the Other Side of Everything, Mandy Steward

A thoughtful quote can be the path that guides us into better understanding of ourselves and the world.