Jerri Phillips

My feet are tired, and my body is ready to be stilled, to stretch out. It has been a good day, but a long day. We are tired. Beside me, the Man of my Dreams dozes off into a much needed rest. Down the hall, I hear the voices of the children as they wind down from their still burning excitement. I recline here staring into the glow of my computer screen, so tired, not ready to sleep.

Sometimes my heart's incredible need to know and be known is more enticing than my body's need for rest, and in this quiet, I listen for a whisper, for His whisper.

When the house is buzzing and activity whirls around, I can sit and read my Bible, maybe journal, slip in a prayer, but it is now, when the distractions are silenced and my heart is still that I hear the best. It is when I determine to create an intimate rendezvous instead of hoping bumping into Him throughout the day will somehow allow me to see enough of Him to know Him, to learn His character, to witness His whole heart. It is more than a need for Him to do something. It is my need to be something. To be His. To be consumed by Him.

To my wonderment, He seems to need the same. To be mine. To be consumed by me.

How does one meet such a Lover? How do affairs with passion this deep begin? How do they continue?

All great love affairs happen the same way.

By choice.

I choose to turn off the TV and the computer.
I choose to value Him more than a chat group or any of the writers of the blogs I enjoy.
I choose to stay up a little later or get up a bit earlier to listen to His heart and to share mine.
I choose to notice the innumerable ways He says He loves me daily.
I choose to believe He acts determinedly, not by coincidence.
I choose to believe Him when He says He'd rather die than live without me.
I choose to avoid things that would hurt Him or draw my heart from Him.
I choose to read His love letter and believe He means every word.

A great love affair is not something that happens by coincidence. It will never be convenient, and life will do everything to steal it. A truly wondrous love affair is created through actions and choices. It is a determined goal that is reached a hundred different ways each day. It is a consuming thought process that asks how to speak value to the Lover.

It is a choice.

A choice He made first...a choice that gives me every reason to choose Him.