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The Woo and the Wow! Are You Ready for Some Real Romance?

Posted Thursday, January 10th, 2013 12 Comments
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heart-700141_640Do you have enough romance in your life?
Are you aware that we have a very romantic God?
Where do we get our ideas about what is romantic?
The definition of romantic is: “Inclined toward or suggestive of the feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.
Doesn’t that sound like a God whose idea it was to create oceans, seasons, first snowfalls, and fields of wildflowers?
Hollywood is awash with romantic notions. Many of us have taken our cue from Tinseltown as to what qualifies in that department.
From the world of filmmaking, we get the idea that romance is a flashy ordeal with diamonds, dance numbers and beautiful people decked out in ball gowns and tuxedos.
Hallmark commercials, novels and jewelry store campaigns also provide us with modern notions of how we should be romanced. Expensive gifts and hired musicians, flowers, and fireplaces, fancy foods and fantastic footwork are generally on their menu for proper courtship and romance. And when it comes to getting married we love to hire amazing venues like this wedding venue Southwest Virginia to reflect our love.
It’s all good, I guess.
This year, my husband and I will celebrate our twenty-fifth anniversary. He’ll grumble that I’m not a normal woman when it comes to romance so it’s challenging for him to figure out how to woo and wow me.

On the one hand, I’m not that hard to please.
I don’t want him to spend money on jewelry or chocolate; in fact, I’d prefer he not spend any money at all. What I truly desire is his attention, kind words, a book read together and discussed, or a simple meal sharing memories of what we’ve meant to one another over the years.
After all these years, he knows I’d rather camp than cruise. But, it’s much deeper than that.

Because on the other hand, what I want takes everything he’s got.

For me, it’s the relationship that creates the romance. Romance that works for me begins when we say “good morning” and builds as we work through the daily challenges of parenting, paying bills and serving the Lord together.

It’s the together part that makes the romance happen for me. If we haven’t been together in overcoming the obstacles of the day, it’s impossible to impress me with a bouquet and bottle of wine at dinner.

God is a romantic. You can tell by His extravagance and the lengths to which He goes to get our attention.

Some days I stew over my prayer time, angry and frustrated that certain situations have not worked out to my desiring or over ways the Lord has tarried in answering. Sometimes I come to Him determined to fret and scowl.

As I read His Word, however, He whispers to me again about the depth of His love and reminds me of His unchanging character.

As I pray, I look out through my window at the muted greens of the woods against the gray sky of a rainy day and marvel at His handiwork and the gift of this view. The greens and browns of the landscape are interrupted with occasional flashes of blue or red or yellow as birds come to light on nearby branches ever so briefly and then return to nests hidden in the crooks of trees. Their varied songs warble, coo and whistle to me as the singers grow bold through the camouflage of their platforms.

Ever so slowly, the romance of creation quiets my heart and speaks to my soul of a deeper relationship, wooing me to see beyond the transient troubles of the day to the great heart of God.

The God of Creation wishes me to spend time in His presence. He wants my attention, my attendance, my full focus. He crossed the greatest of divides and gave His only Son to bring me safely into His fold. Because He created me, He knows the secrets of my own soul better than I.

Just as Hollywood has many plastic notions of romance, so the world has many misconceptions about a relationship with God and often these ideas pollute my own thinking.

He is not a genie in a bottle. He is not the great wish-granter in the sky. He is not about making my life easier or taking my orders for my best life now.

He is all about a deeper story, a greater adventure, an eternal romance that began before I was born and will continue on into a place where there will be no more false notions, no Hollywood hoaxes, no cheap imitations of grace.

And He wants me beside Him on this adventure. (That’s the wow!)

On the one hand, it’s not that hard. On the other hand, it takes everything I have.

The romance of God calls to me and I will follow into the deep, deep heart of the greatest story ever told.

“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.” Song of Songs 2:11-13

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  1. precariousyates says:
    January 10, 2013 at 5:33 am

    This made me smile as I ran across it tonight! I’ve been doing a verse by verse series on the Song of Solomon on my blog. Can I reference this as something introductory for those who don’t know how to begin this journey into the romantic heart of our God?

    Reply
  2. Glenn Seddon says:
    January 10, 2013 at 8:01 am

    Nice Lori. I’m on a similar theme at the moment talking about God’s crazy love and the hebrew word Yada (tomorrow). It’s a fascinating word really. It means to know. The same word is used in Gen 4:1 where Adam knew (yada) Eve and they had muchhkins. My paraphrase.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says:
    January 10, 2013 at 3:08 pm

    When one has been married 52 years, and both partners show their age, romance isn’t the hormonal thing it used to be. It’s appreciating being together, even when there’s no talking. It’s caring about your partner’s health. It’s thanking God for the one sleeping next to you, the one who fell asleep the minute he hit the pillow, or when you start to say something, says, “I haven’t finished praying yet.” Romance means different things to different people but only one thing to God: Have no other gods before me and love your neighbor as yourself. Romance can last forever. We just have a skewed idea of what it is. Thanks for reminding me. MOMMA

    Reply
  4. Lady in the Loge says:
    January 11, 2013 at 12:08 pm

    Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’ve brought an exquisite understanding of romance in marriage by expressing the intimate tenderness and wooing power of God’s love.

    Reply
  5. Cheri says:
    January 11, 2013 at 11:03 pm

    Ah, sweet and poignant. Lori, just this week as I sat down for my quiet time with the Lord before heading to work, He spoke to my heart: “It’s all about relationship, not ritual. Just talk to Me.” Sadly, when I get busy, it’s easy for my quiet time to become something to do and get checked off my endless list. How that must break God’s heart. And how wonderful it is to remember, and then to give Him everything I have and come away from our time together truly refreshed!

    I particularly love this paragraph from your post: “The God of Creation wishes me to spend time in His presence. He wants my attention, my attendance, my full focus. He crossed the greatest of divides and gave His only Son to bring me safely into His fold. Because He created me, He knows the secrets of my own soul better than I.”

    Thank you for your faithful answer to His call … and for sharing your heart with us.

    Love and hugs,
    Cheri

    Reply
  6. Davalyn Spencer says:
    January 12, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    Lori – what a beautiful post. I’m working on a women’s retreat in Colorado with the theme, Divine Romance. May I reference your comments and blog?

    Reply