Redeeming Love

I have learned one of the most valuable lessons so far in my life this past month, and I am a little hesitant in sharing. I just shared this story in an email to a friend, and as I write it again in my blog, I am emotionally overwhelmed. It's very personal, but speaks so clearly to me of God's character that I feel I must share it. So, I'm hoping there is someone who will read this who will take my lesson to heart, for it is not just my lesson to be learned, it is a lesson for us all. I'm hoping that you don't have to wait for half your life to be over before learning it, but if so, know that the believing it to be true at any age is a miracle.

Two things that are interrelated (is that even a word?) occurred in December, and I didn't put them together right away, but the timing of the two makes it clear that they are related. First, I read the book Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, lent to me by a friend. The book is based on the book of Hosea in the Bible, loosely, and his love for his prostitute wife, whom God told Hosea to marry. It is also about God's love for us. No matter what his wife (Angel in the book, Gomer in THE book) did in her past, who she was, or what she believed could sway Hosea's love for her.

In my past I have not been treated very well by men, and I really haven't felt that I should be treated very well. As much as I believe that Christ washes away my sin, from the time I was a little girl, I have always had a part of me that felt unclean and unworthy of such total devotion and unconditional love. I can believe that God can love me like that, but a man? No, I never could believe that. But not anymore.

Which brings me to the second thing, and that is Harry's visit this past month. He was such a good friend to me, is a good friend to me. To have a man help me and serve me without even once crossing the line of inappropriateness, was a first for me. And help me he did--packing, loading, moving, unloading, going to IKEA, moving some more, building furniture for me, painting, building shelves, packing my lunch, surprising me at work, taking me on adventures--all this while listening to me, talking with me and me just being able to be myself and feeling totally accepted by him, and then accepting his help without feeling I had to reciprocate in some way.

So, due to Redeeming Love and Harry's friendship, I learned what it is I want, need and deserve in a man. I'm grateful God has shown me what I needed, at the right time, in a way that I could understand. He is so incredibly patient with me! (Even when I have to have a lesson shown to me over and over.) What an incredible blessing bestowed on me this Christmas season! And what a great reminder that I need to show Jesus' incredible, overflowing love to others, just as he has shown to me.