Friday, January 21, 2011 - Crazy in Love

    There's a whole lot of love celebrated between Christmas Eve and January 20th in my family. My parents eloped on Christmas Eve when they were 16 and 17 years old and just celebrated their 52nd anniversary. Julie and Nick were married three years ago January 5th and Tom and I celebrated 28 years on January 8th. My sister and her husband William married 10 years ago yesterday in a room with a picture window and snow began falling as if on cue to add to the joy and romance of the day. Each of us, like other couples in love, have done some crazy things for each other and to get to be with each other. My parents kept their marriage secret for six months until Daddy could graduate. Nick Akin drove five hours from Atlanta to stand by Julie's car with flowers on Valentine's Day. Now that they're married, Julie encourages Nick to put down the dish cloth and go relax, play video games or watch a movie. (Now that's love!) When Tom and I were dating we walked up Shades Mountain in a Birmingham snow/ice storm from Samford University to my parents' home so we would be snowed in together rather than in separate locations. And God brought my sister, Crystie and her husband William together just days after each had given up the dating scene to depend on Him to provide the special someone He wanted them to have. 
     Being in love brings out the best in us. Nothing seems impossible and in our happiness we even let go of past hurts, see others in a better light and wish them well. Being in love also makes it hard to focus on much else. Some of my college assignments were completed last minute and when I placed Ann Smith's file under A instead of S my boss at the time commented, "It's amazing how falling in love ruins some of my best workers." Reminds me of a country song, "What A Beautiful Mess I'm In":
Going out of my mind these days,
Like I'm walkin' round in a haze.
I can't think straight, I can't concentrate.
And I need a shave.

I go to work and I look tired.
The boss man says: "Son, you're gonna get fired."
This ain't your style, and from behind my coffee cup,
I just smile.

What a beautiful mess!
What a beautiful mess I'm in.
Spendin' all my time with you,
There's nothin' else I'd rather do.
What a sweet addiction that I'm caught up in.
'Cos I can't get enough,
Can't stop the hunger for your love.
What a beautiful, what a beautiful mess I'm in.
Ahhh.

This morning put salt in my coffee.
I put my shoes on the wrong feet.
I'm losin' my mind, I swear; It might be the death of me,
But I don't care.
(Refrain)


    Jeremiah 2:2 states God's wistfulness for the days when His people were so head over heels in love with Him they followed Him anywhere as the rest of the world looked on shaking their heads in wonder. 

"The word of the LORD came to me: 

'Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

 'I remember the devotion of your youth, 

how as a bride you loved Me and followed Me through the desert, 

through a land not sown.'" 

     When was the last time you did something crazy for God just because you were in love with Him?  Some of our youth jumped in an icy pool to raise money for world hunger and others were on the streets of Benton beating drums for the the same purpose. I remember riding down the main drag of crowded Panama City in an old church bus after youth camp singing "I Will Follow Jesus" at the top of our lungs. As a much shier youth, my love for God had me passing out tracts, witnessing to a waitress, praying in public, and going to New England for summer missions. I remember trying to reach out and hug God from the sheer joy of knowing He was with me and loved me, no matter who else did or didn't. 

"Neither height nor depth, 
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
Romans 8:39
     He doesn't let a day go by without proving His love to us in the kindest, most personal ways, but I have to ask myself, "When's the last time I was crazy in love with God?"  Maybe it's time to celebrate another anniversary: the day He sealed me in His forever Love and showered me with every blessing in Christ. He's faithful - am I? 

"The eternal God is your refuge, 

and underneath are the everlasting arms. 

He will drive out your enemy before you, 

saying 'Destroy him!'" Deuteronomy 33:27

     Sweet, holy Covenant-Keeping God, I do love You but I want to fall more deeply in love with You to the point I don't care where You lead me or what You lead me to do. Make me acutely aware of ways I can be kind to You, thoughtful of You, loving toward You. Forgive me for giving You so little of me but, today, accept all of me as Yours and Yours alone. 

In the name of Jesus, the most extravagant Gift ever given!

Inspired by My Utmost for His Highest and Jesus Calling