Wind-swept hair, Flying fish, Enchanting rainforest, Whale tails, Bright Caterpillars, Sacred Romance.

This past week I spent away from home, on some sunny islands in the caribbean. On first arriving in Puerto Rico, I struggled with going on such a lovely vacation.  How could I go on a cruise and have so much, when others have so little?  Guilt wrestled me.  I should be spending my time doing something more meaningful, I should be spending my money on something helping others more, I should be spending more time reading my Bible. 

I started reading this book by John Eldredge entitled Sacred Romance and realized something.  Yes, God is practical and does want us to be wise with our time and money.  However, He doesn't want us to kill our hearts.  He wants us to LOVE Him.  Not abandon love altogether to please Him.  He desires us to glory in Him, rejoice in His goodness, enjoy His creation, and smile.  He does not ask for empty repetition.  As Oswald Chambers says: "Most people begin coming to God once they stop being religious, because there is only one master of the human heart- Jesus Christ, not religion."

As I remembered the captivating moments God has blessed me with, I realized how good God truly is.  On my vacation, I began to look for those glimpses and cherish them.  I admired the waterfalls and the expanse of the ocean.  I became unafraid to look at life as an adventure and love story.  As Frederick Buechner says:

"It is a world of magic and mystery, of deep darkness and flickering starlight.  It is a world where terrible things happen and wonderful things too.  It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it is hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are endlessly deceptive.  Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a worlds where the battle goes ultimately to the good, who live happy ever after, and where in the long run everybody, good and evil alike, becomes known by his true name... That is the fairy tale of the Gospel with, of course, one crucial difference from all other fairy tales, which is that the claim made for it it that it is true, that is not only happened once upon a time but has kept on happening ever since and is happening still."

When I rededicated my life to Christ almost three years ago, it wasn't so that I could become a better person.  It was because I wanted God to take me on an adventure.  And He has.  And He still will.  He's taught me to be steadfast during the tough times. But He's also given me passion to live each day in love with Him.