So no, I’m not here to spill the tea on a bridezilla or a TV event planning mishap…although, I do have some funny stories that would leave you looking like:
But I am here to share in brief what this current season of life has been like for me, in the hopes that it would encourage you and make you smile.
Being an entrepreneur in what feels like an intense season of maturing, I’m being reminded that God is right here in the midst of it all. And He has a plan.
You see, I go through seasons where I passionately go through a series of relationship articles, podcasts, and books, specifically from a faith foundation.
And this past Valentine’s Day season brought me back to my roots. Real first love.
Whether we want to admit it or not, relationships are deeply intertwined within our everyday lives. The lack thereof, the abundance of them, the health or unhealth of relationships play out in subtle and often not-so subtle ways.
As much as we’d like to compartmentalize all the different facets of our lives – there is inevitable spilling and cross-over.
It was time for my heart to hear the truth again in regards to the beauty of relationships and how God is faithful to work all things out-- together for our good.
I started my search by listening to my tried-and-true Annie F. Downs: “That Sounds Fun” podcast.
Annie and her guests hold such kindness and insight when it comes to faith and relationships.
The episodes that rocked my face off:
Juliana & Addison Bevere, Arden & Christian Bevere, and Austin & Jessica Bevere brought that fire.
And so I spent an entire Saturday taking my time and soaking up their wisdom.
To get a small taste of what I watched:
So in the midst of all my deep diving into the world of relationships again, I noticed something was happening.
My heart was getting ridiculously encouraged.
Not discouraged because I’ve been perpetually single and desire to be married like yester-decade. But encouraged because I was allowing the truth of God to permeate the tender and vulnerable places of my heart again.
It was reminding me that I was loved by a God who was absolutely into every detail of this one precious life.
He was whispering to my heart – I see you. And I’ve not forgotten about you.
And I knew it was true.
Just a few days later, I got a random request from a sweet friend of mine…
“HEY! YOU WANT TO POSSIBLY BE IN THE BRIDAL SHOW?”
Um. Do *I*-- the person who’s been writing about romance and love for over 10 years want to play dress up in a bridal gown for an entire day??
Dear reader, what do you think I said?
Well my response was:
“HECK YES WHEN IS IT”.
MIRACULOUSLY my schedule had a fresh opening on the very day of the bridal show.
And only God and I truly knew how profound that was to my heart.
I SEE YOU.
Meanwhile, in the atmosphere…everyone kept talking about this show, “Love is Blind”.
It was all over my Instagram and Facebook feeds.
Mind you, I’m not a huge reality TV show person, but I became super curious as to why this particular reality show had picked up so much momentum in such a short amount of time.
So I decided to simply check out the first episode for myself - Just so I could understand the premise.
Fast forward to me finishing the entire season in just 3 days.
CLEARLY I DIDN’T EXPECT THAT.
The premise for “Love is Blind”:
Single guys and girls date multiple people, then propose to the one they feel they have the strongest emotional connection with – all without ever seeing the other person they’ve been ‘dating’.
To make the stakes even higher, once they finally see each other, we watch them meet each others’ respective families and plan a legitimate wedding where we then can watch them say either “I do”….or “I don’t”.
It endeavors to remove the distractions of cell phones, social media, and physical appearance in order to challenge the notion that ‘love is truly blind’.
The show still might not be your cup of tea, but what I found fascinating and what I believe to be the main draw of this show in today’s culture, is the hunger and thirst for true connection, true intimacy beyond the superficial and temporal nature of our current culture and busy lives.
We were made to be known.
And knowing goes both ways.
It’s for the listener and the speaker.
It’s a receiving and a giving.
Authenticity – being the key.
We’ve all known for quite some time, that social media misses the mark in terms of truthful connection.
And accomplishments alone don’t fill the void in our aching hearts.
But real faith-filled relationships and friendships help to bring out the person we’ve been longing to be.
We’ll be challenged, loved, encouraged, celebrated, put to the test, and inspired.
But what we often forget is that a relationship worth having is also a relationship worth nurturing – doing the hard work of growing in love.
And this takes time.
And as we know, time is the real currency of life.
It may be a risk for you to give away time and to step out in terms of relationships, friendships, or work choices. But for those of us who know God, His promise to us is that all things will work together for good. (Romans 8:28). What an incredible foundation to stand on.
I mean, just think…the lives of these “contestants “ from “Love is Blind”, are now radically changed forever, because they took the time to take a risk, amid a televised “social experiment” in front of millions.
photo credit: Lauren Speed - Instagram
(P.S. I LOVE LAUREN & CAMERON!!)
SHOWING US ALL ONCE AGAIN THAT VULNERABILITY IS STILL THE DOORWAY TO TRUE CONNECTION AND LOVE.
SO DO YOU WANT THE REAL OR DO YOU WANT THE FAKE?
And yes, being a fake bride at the Bridal Show was incredible for me. Like you have NO idea. My family was in attendance, and my cousin legit cried seeing me in a wedding dress. It was like a beautiful reality show.
I just couldn’t get over how God had made me a ‘bride’ just weeks before I turn 40.
And I started remembering all those times I had asked God and ugly-cried over the years…And guess what ya’ll?... He made me a bride in a way that still held my heart and encouraged me…. But just not the way I thought it would go down. Ha!
BUT MY HEART IS ALSO PREPARING FOR THE REAL.
One day, I’ll be a real bride.
And on that day, you’ll get to celebrate with me.
And we’ll think back to this blog post and how crazy the world was and how impossible everything seemed.
And we’ll be reminded of the love of God.
Because in midst of all the tension of our current seasons of life, we can still trust in the timing and kindness of God. That He’s really not late, but that He’s always been and forever will be, right on time.
I’m learning more and more, the plans of a loving God are so much better than we could ever think or imagine.
So today, dear reader, I want you to simply remember:
That God sees you, He knows you, He loves you, and He has not forgotten about you.
Wisdom’s Knocking:
“…Yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands: your walls are continually before me.”
-Isaiah 49: 15b-16