Current Soundtrack for my Life

As an intern at 5 Stones I have weekly meetings with Dave. I don't know how many of you have met with Dave 1-on-1, but he asks questions like, "What's going on between you and God?" and "If God was sitting right here and looking you in the eye, what would He say to you?" I mean, I guess I should expect that from him, but it caught me off guard.  If you asked me what was going on between me and my friends or family, I could definitely answer that question. But what's going on with me and God? More difficult.

So I started thinking about it. What's going on in my relationship with God? What is He saying to me?  For the past week, the answers have manifested themselves in two songs by Tenth Avenue North called Times and Beloved (you should check them both out when you have the time).

There's something you should know about me - I'm a hopeless romantic. I really like movies and books that have good love stories, even if the rest of the plot isn't well done. In real life, I love seeing people in love, and I love sharing in the excitement of new and old relationships with people.  As I spent some time reflecting about this, I found myself wondering if this was a positive or negative aspect of my character. I can definitely see where becoming obsessive about love and relationships (especially ones that aren't 'real') could be very distracting.  I mean, I love the movie Pride and Prejudice, but watching it over and over again and living vicariously through Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy would be a bit ridiculous.

However, it got me thinking about all the romantic imagery that is found in Scripture.  The idea that God romances us, that the Church is His bride... what if God wired me this way because it's one of the ways that He can get my attention? What if my "love of love" is a way that He woos me? Because no matter how hard we try, no human can love perfectly, and when my intense desire to be loved perfectly cannot be met by the people around me, where else can I go but back into the arms of the Father?  Better still - how can I reorient myself so that I don't just run to God and seek relationship with Him when people fail me? What would it look like for my relationship with God to be my default, to let His grace and love fill me up everyday and have the overflow of that fuel the rest of my relationships? Because let's be honest, of all the love stories throughout time, there is no greater or more romantic hero than Christ.

So these two songs have been on repeat on my iTunes for over a week now. It's not easy for me to imagine God actually speaking words right to me, but I've been trying to let Him, and Tenth Avenue North is helping me do that. They remind me that God calls me His Beloved, despite my unfaithfulness, despite the times that I lash out at Him or, maybe worse, simply forget about Him. Have you ever let God say those things to you?