better

"Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, not to awaken love until the time is right." --Song of Solomon 8:4 [NLT]

Beautiful words that hold truth beyond measure.  "Don't awaken love before it's time."  Simple enough, right?  Simple, it is.  But it's also hard.  Not in the way some of us may think, though.

As a Christian girl, I haven't had much experience with the whole dating thing.  Actually, I haven't had any.  I've never been kissed, never held hands... I don't think I've even been truly alone with a boy (minus my Dad, haha!).  So most people would find me pretty much clueless.  But when it comes to waiting, I'm the expert.

I turned sixteen this past October, and when I did, the privelege of dating came with it.  Obviously I didn't run to find a boyfriend, and there (obviously) wasn't a line of anxious guys lined up at my front door.  But I still found my attention gravitating towards the male species.  I wondered what they thought of me, if they talked about me, if any of them liked me.  It was an ongoing thought, seemingly never ending.

But when God said, "Hey, how 'bout Kenya and teaching kids?" He added, "... and focus on that for a while."  Translation: Drop the boy thing, it's ridiculous.  Then when I read the verse above, I realized I was trying to awaken love before it's time.  Not as vigorously as some girls, but I was.  As much as I didn't want to admit it to myself, I wanted a guy to notice me.  And though some have (and still do), I shouldn't have picked my brain to pieces trying to figure out whether he might be My Guy.  God's got a plan.  And when the time is right, He'll show me My Guy.

Though many chick flicks are simply unrealistic, there's one line that perked my ears.  And surprisingly, I don't think it's a bunch of smooth-talking.  I think it reflects what love is supposed to be like.

"Jamie... she has faith in me.  She makes me wanna be different.  Better." --Landon, A Walk to Remember

Love-- true love-- will make you, well, like he said.  Better.  You'll uplift them and they'll uplift you.  Everyone will know it's right, because it is.  Sure, no relationship is perfect and everyone has bumps in the road.  But overall, both of you will shine brighter individually.  And together in Christ, you'll be genuinely reflecting true Love.

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

Reading Between the Lines

*note: this came about during a  free write in creative writing.  i have no idea how i thought of it, but.. here it is.

Some guys are like open books.  Oh, you know.  The ones that want the whole world to know anything and everything about them. The ones that yell random things from rooftops and could care less who or what is listening.  Some guys, on the other hand, are like closed books, no words evident but the title and possibly a summary on the back or inside of the cover.  But some guys are like books that are shoved behind all of the other books.

In a sense, the kind of guys I'm speaking of are classics.  Like The Screw Tapes by C.S. Lewis or perhaps a collection of poems by Tennyson.  They're known by everyone, and yet, everyone doesn't notice all they have to offer.  Then one day, an unsuspecting reader stumbles upon one of these wonderful books.  She gently blows the dust off and carefully turns the pages. Once she starts reading, she just can't get enough of it.  She loves everything about it; the way the words flow in perfect rhythm as she reads them, the tattered pages and their creased corners to mark previous readers' places.  How the font is perfectly simple, how it smells of different colognes and perfumes and smoke from a pipe.  Each and every detail is perfect in each and every way to her. Though people point out its flaws, the imperfections only make her love the book more.

This book isn't an easy read, though.  It's inspiring yet nonsensical, serious yet humorous.  She loves the book, she just doesn't understand all of it.  So she begins to try and read between the lines.  The girl can't help but wonder if there's something more to discover amidst the sentences that captivate her so.  She observes and examines the off-white spaces, and realizes there's room for someone else to write.  But it's due at the library today.

So she enters the library and explains she'd like to renew the book.  Even buy the book.  But the librarian explains that it's on hold and that someone else is waiting to read it.  Reluctantly, she hands the lady her beloved books and heaves a sigh, desperately wishing the book was hers.  Just hers.

At school the next day, she sees another girl carrying her book, and she can't help but feel spiteful.  The other girl doesn't understand how precious the book is.  How the sound of turning its pages is magical and how the coffee stain on page 34 gives it character.  She doesn't notice how each imperfection adds to its perfectness.  She just treats it as any other book, nothing special.

The girl longs to save her book, but she knows it's not really hers for the taking.  It belongs to no one, not even her who studied and noted every individual characteristic.  The girl who tried to read between the lines and wants so badly to fill them in with inklings of her own heart.

Some girls are like open books, like some guys are like open books.  Some are closed books as well.  Some are classics shoved to the back of the shelf, well known, but people don't take time to notice the important details.

One day, a guy finds a book as he's searching the library shelves.  He picks it up and eagerly opens the cover.  He reads between the lines and sees there's room for his thoughts there.  That someone cared to leave enough space for him. And slowly, he begins to fill in the blank lines with words he's never gotten to say.

THE END.