Hey Guys,
How are y’all doing? Hope this new month is treating you well. Life has been interesting, I feel like I’m always saying that to you guys but it’s true. One of my favorite quotes from Forrest Gump is “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” It’s so true you never know what you’re going to get, some days you’ll get a flavor you like and other days you’ll get ones you don’t. I’ve had my share of both and yet no matter how many times I get days I don’t like I get ones that are so good they make me forget the bad. So let’s see where this blog leads us today. Get comfortable, take a deep breath, and let’s chat for a bit.
If y’all clicked on this blog thinking I was going to talk about a boyfriend or someone I’m dating then let me just disappoint you right now and say we’re not talking about that hahaha. Since this is the “Month of Love” I want to talk about a different and purer love. Falling in Love with God.
As I always say in my posts, I’m not here to shove God into your life or force you to believe in Him but I will share His greatness and goodness. There are many types of love, The love of parents, siblings, partners, and friendships. So far I have not found all of those types of love in one person but I have found it in God. He loves like a father, a brother, a husband, and a best friend.
Today I want to dedicate my blog to Him because without Him I don’t know where I would be. Who would I cry out to at night when I am alone with my thoughts of doubt, loneliness, frustrations? Who would I run to when I feel lost and afraid? Who would rejoice with me when I finally have overcome battles and trials that I thought I would never see the end to? Sure we can run to someone who we can physically see but they will not always be there for you.
They will not understand your deepest regrets, why something still hurts you from the past. They won’t be able to heal those wounds that are deep and hidden from all to see. They will not understand the scars you try to cover up, or the mask you sometimes feel like you need to wear. Though they won’t admit it, people get tired of hearing you complain or crying to them all of the time but you know who doesn’t complain or get tired of us? Jesus.
You might be asking yourself how can I believe that God truly loves me? Someone with my past? With my History? The beauty in this is that God does not fall in and out of love like man does ( and when I say man I mean humankind). His love surpasses everything and here are some verses from the bible to prove that:
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 John 4:9-11 “ In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”
2 Corinthians 5:14-17 “14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
As I read these verses I see so many types of love from God; I see an everlasting love, A forgiving love, a merciful love, a Selfless love, an enveloping love, in Him I see the Model for love. We didn’t deserve for Him to send His only son to die on the cross for our sins and yet He did it anyway so that our sins can be washed through the act of a pure unstained love.
I for one can not imagine anyone being able to take His place and say that they would sacrifice themselves for me, for mankind. What He had to do was probably the hardest thing anyone had ever had to do. He himself asked God before going on the cross in Matthew 26:39 “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Even though He is the Son of God in His humanity He knew what He was going to have to go through wasn’t going to be easy but He put God’s will over His own. The hunger, thirst, pain, exhaustion His body went through for a people who didn’t deserve it shows me that His love surpasses everything on this Earth, beneath it, and above it.
I pray that whoever is reading this can experience falling in love with God the same way I have. I’m not saying it’s easy but faith plays such a big role in this. You can ask me “ But Janny, how are you sure He exists if you haven’t even seen Him?” and my honest answer is found in John 20:29 “Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
I may not see Him but I feel Him as I feel the breeze, the warmth of the sun, and the drizzle of the rain. I hear Him in the waves, in the thunder, as the birds sing. I see him as the trees sway left and right, and the stars twinkling at night. If we still ourselves enough and intentionally look for Him we’ll see, hear, and feel Him everywhere.
Falling in love and staying in love with God takes work the same as any relationship. You have to make time to know Him, to learn about Him, and to trust Him. I don’t have it down to a science and I’ve been serving Him since I was 16. There were moments of doubt, frustration, anger, loneliness, moments where I felt like giving up and honestly it was because I wasn’t allowing myself to become vulnerable enough with Him. God is a gentleman and He won’t force His love on you but if you are willing to, He will knock and wait for you to open the door of your heart.
I pray that you will allow yourself to open up to Him and fall in love with Him. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. God bless you guys and I leave you with this quote;
“To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; to seek Him, the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement.” – Raphael Simon
Until our next unpacking. Have a great day my lovelies!
Love Always,
Janny Mari
One Day at A Time with Janny Mari 