LOVE STORY FOR MOMS - How God Pursues Our Hearts

We are celebrating heart month—I want to give you a word picture, a love story about God’s heart and ours. You know in the Bible Jesus was a master storyteller-he knew that stories capture our imaginations and speak to us at a deeper level. He spoke in parables; today we have other methods, stories, movies, internet, u-tube!

“Carrie awoke to singing on her sixth birthday.  She opened her eyes to discover that balloons had been tied all around her bed—a colorful canopy. The celebration had begun. Her mom and dad were standing by her bed with candles on her very own little muffin and there were squeals of delight; kisses and hugs welcomed her into this day—just as she had been welcomed into the world 6 years earlier. There was no doubt about it—this little girl was delighted in. She knew that her father cherished her. She knew that her mother loved and wanted her. Hers was a world where her father protected her, her mother nurtured her and she was enjoyed. Life for Carrie was as close to life as God meant it to be for every little girl and boy.” From Captivating by Stasi Eldridge

A perfect world, a perfect family for this little girl. Every child should be so loved, so welcomed and treasured. Could life really be like this--ever?  For you and your children?

Every one of us wants to be loved for who we are, pursued past our messiness, delighted in, to be someone’s top priority—we felt that way as kids and now we think that way as adult women, wives. Example, how did you want to celebrate Valentines Day? Did it meet your expectations?  Some of us realize that our men might try their best to love and romance us like we need and want to be loved, but they fall short. And it’s painful.

 Maybe your childhood didn’t look or feel like Carries. You cannot be alive very long w/o being wounded. Maybe you are like Melisa, who instinctively knew pain from birth. She said, “My parents already had a daughter and they desperately wanted a son. I felt it my entire life.” Maybe you had a passive father that was not available to you or a verbally (or otherwise) abusive father-his words define you to this day. Your mom was too busy trying to prove herself to someone, or too tired after working all day long or weak, timid. This is not to demean our parents; they did the best they could because they also received wounds from their childhood, living with imperfect people. But this is to show that life is harsh on every man, woman and child’s heart.  Every single person that has ever lived has a wounded heart, because we have an enemy that wants to destroy us in this broken fallen world. Every story has a villain and our life story does too.

Besides being loved, every woman deep in her soul wants to be beautiful. Bethany Dillon wrote a song not too long ago that said,
I want to be beautiful
And make you stand in awe
Look inside my heart
And be amazed
I want to hear you say
Who I am is quite enough
I just want to be worthy of love
And beautiful.

Did you ever play dress up as young girls?  I used to give my kids a box of old clothes, jewelry, shoes and they would play for hours. They loved twirling in front of friends, asking how do I look, am I pretty? How about prom or your wedding--how you shopped for just the perfect dress to be beautiful. My daughter got married this summer, considers herself a pretty tough-athlete type, wanted a simple plain dress, but when she tried on the ornately beaded lace dress and looked into the mirror at the bridal shop, she could not believe the transformation. She felt beautiful and so feminine.

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?  To go along with our adventure park theme-have you ever gone into a house of mirrors—they are good for a few laughs—but the real reason we look into the mirror is to see if there is a trace of beauty there. Any little bit will do. Beauty is powerful, beauty speaks, beauty invites, b-nourishes, comforts inspires. Beauty draws us to God because God is beauty and he loves beauty. For example, take a look at the world God created.

We know beauty has caused untold pain in our lives, how many diets, how many clothes, how much money is spent, how much else have we done to find beauty?  But guess what! Contrary to what the world claims, beauty does not diminish with time, it deepens and increases. True beauty comes from a depth of soul that can only be attained through living many years well. God grows it in us, if we will let him.
 
But let me just say that for the most part life has assaulted and buried our beauty. We have an evil enemy that wants to destroy us and destroy God’s beautiful world. (We’ll find out why in a few minutes.) When we offer our truest most beautiful heart and others reject us, we want to close up and adapt strategies to protect ourselves from being hurt. It’s painful to love and to want to be loved in a more perfect way, but sometimes God does not rescue us out of a painful season. Think about how a pregnant woman is physically enlarged waiting for the birth and so it is with our hearts. They become emotionally and spiritually enlarged during painful periods in our lives. As always, God’s invitation during that time is to bring our sorrows to him.  
    
CS Lewis says, “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin. The only place outside of heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love is hell.”

We become beautiful when we know we are loved and when we love. We’ve all seen it many times, cut off from love, rejected, no one pursuing her, something in a woman wilts like a flower no one waters. The lights have gone out so to speak, but this same woman can light up an entire room when she is being pursued, when she finds love. Who can forget Tulah in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Lottie in Enchanted April, Adrian in Rocky, there are other favorites you might think of? As women, we long to be loved and pursued in a certain way, we are wired for romance--it’s what makes our hearts come alive.

But again we have an enemy that wants to tear down, destroy, take away the love from your heart. History bears record of the special hatred Satan has for women. Why? He fears and is jealous because of your power and beauty; because he wanted to be beautiful and all-powerful like God, and only women can give birth and nurture life. He wants to destroy life.

This explains the wounds in our life story, but for every villain in the movies we watch and the stories we read, there is a hero to save the beauty. Jesus came through for us before we were ever born. He fought for us before we ever knew we needed him. He came, he died, he rose again for us.

If you’ll open your heart to the possibility, you’ll find that God has been pursuing you to save you since you were a little girl, like Carrie. Because that picture of Carrie can be one of you and the life-long passionate pursuit of a Father who knows your heart and takes delight in it. What are some ways God is pursuing me, you might ask? Every song you love, every memory you cherish, every moment that has moved you to holy tears has been given to you from the One who has been pursuing you from your first breath to win your heart. God’s version of chocolates and candlelight dinners comes in the form of sunsets and a night sky of twinkling stars over a lake, lush colorful gardens, your favorite beach, your child’s precious words of love. The romancing of your heart will be personal as he knows what takes your breath away and what moves you.

God wants to live this life together with you, to share in your days, your desires, disappointments, your chaos, commitments, even your laundry and lists. We can’t do life w/o God very well; we can’t love with wholeness until we take our hearts to God. There is no other safe place in the world for them. St Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless til they find their rest in him.”  

One more thing, would a good father feel satisfied when his daughter is rescued from a car accident, but left in ICU? Doesn’t he want her to be healed as well? Let me read some verses from Isaiah that Jesus himself said when he started his ministry on earth.

God sent me on a mission and I have great news for you.
God has sent me to restore and release something.
And that something is you.
I am here to give you back your heart and set you free.
I am furious at the enemy who did this to you, I will fight for you.
I will bestow beauty on you where you have only known devastation.
Joy in the places of your deep sorrow.

What if this were true? What if Jesus came not only to save us but to heal and restore the broken hurting places of our hearts?
 Now that would be an offer worth considering.
The good news today is that He can and he will, if you’ll let him. He is pursuing you and waiting for you to decide.

There is a wonderful scene near the end of the film Anna and the King—another great picture of God pursuing us.
Anna is an English woman living in Siam as a tutor to the king’s many offspring and has helped him prepare for a state dinner. They plan a splendid affair—silverware, tablecloths, candle light, wonderful food and at the end ballroom dancing.
When the feast is over and it comes time for the first dance, the king stands and extends his hand to Anna. He invites her to dance with him. He fixes his gaze on her and is distracted by nothing else. He waits for her response. She is clearly surprised, taken aback, but has the grace to respond and stand. As they walk past the long table, the king’s eyes never stray from hers, a smile playing on his lips. Others are upset that he has chosen her. Some watch with contempt, others with pleasure.
Anna came to the ball prepared. She was beautiful in a striking gown that shimmered like starlight. She had spent hours getting herself ready-and as she looked in the mirror she felt beautiful inside. As they reach the dance floor, Anna expresses her fear of dancing with the King before the eyes of others. She knows her wounded past. “We wouldn’t want to end up in a heap,” she says.
His answer to her fearful heart?  I am King. I will lead.”

 Jesus is the King, inviting you to dance with him. He asks, “May I have this dance every day of your life?” His gaze is fixed on you. He is captivated by your beauty, he is smiling, and he is waiting for your response.

He is extending his hand to you. Offer your heart to him today.

 Thank you Jesus, for loving and pursuing, us before we were born. We want to be restored, renewed and receive your grace for our lives. Give us your grace as we examine our hearts this morning to see where we stand with you. Amen.