expect the unexpected

I recently read a blog a friend of mine wrote about how your plans are not always God's plans, and he works things out in a way we never would have expected. He said it better, you can read it at http://romansfiveeight.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-plan-to-abandon-my-plan.html. But he basically described my life and the way I've seen God work the past few years especially. And it got me thinking.

If my life and the way God orchestrates it is completely unlike anything I ever expected, what about love? I have my own thoughts on what love is and how I'll feel about that person when he comes into my life. But what reason has God given me to believe that it's really truly what love is? Nothing he's ever done in my life has been expected or normal. So falling in love? That's going to be the hardest thing to figure out. I have the feeling the guy I marry is going to be nothing like I expect him to be.

I've been in what I thought was love before. And it felt like I expected and hoped for. But eventually I realized that this wasn't what God had for me. So now I'm trying to figure out what that is!

Something I struggle with is not really knowing guys who I would even consider going out with. A seminary student named Erin who spoke to the girls at Girl Talk described sixteen-year-old boys as "sitting around in their boxers playing xbox," which basically describes most of the guys I know. Not all of them. I know maybe two or three who actually love Jesus, are striving for godliness and have their lives headed towards a goal. But the overwhelming majority either do nothing or do things that don't matter. And they don't care about what God thinks about their lives. And then I know a lot of guys who are interested in dating just to date. They want a girl who'll make them feel good about themselves and make them look good to everyone around them. I'm not going to be that kind of girl for a guy like that. I'm interested in a relationship that glorifies God, in which we encourage each other to do great things for Him.