The Bride?

I recently began reading the book "crazy love" (intentionally uncapitalized) by Francis Chan.  To say that this book made me think is an understatement.  Though I haven't gotten very far in the book, the one thing that I can say it has pointed out to me is the fact that my relationship with God is not anything like it is intended to be.  It amazes me that what God desires of me and what I give to God in return are so completely different that it's surreal.  I've often heard ministers describe our relationship with God as that of being the bride of Christ.  When I think about being a bride, it makes me wonder where I've gone wrong in my relationship with God.  The thing about this book that struck me is that Francis talks about how, for so long, he believed Christianity was just not doing the "really" bad stuff, i.e. swearing, premarital sex, drinking too much, etc., almost as if being a Christian meant that there is a list of bad stuff that we have to avoid doing, and we'll make God happy.

Translate that to the marriage I'm in and realize that having that perception is WAY off kilter.  You know what?  Sometimes I do treat my relationship with God just like that - almost as if I just have to make sure to do all the right things and He's happy.  If I really look deep into being the bride of Christ, I have to admit that I am really not upholding my end of the relationship.  I guarantee you that, if I were to have a list of do's and don'ts that I followed in my marriage, but rarely had communication with my husband beyond that, it would drive Monte crazy!  That's not a relationship!!

Monte and I have a loving, passionate and caring relationship.  We are extremely communicative ... in fact, we probably talk on the phone at least a handful of times during the day while he's at work (though it's not always deep communication because, come on, he's at work and he's working .. but we are still communicating all day long).  We have a set bedtime of 8:30pm for all of our children, even if the older kids aren't going right to sleep, they have to be in their rooms and having down-time by then, entirely so that Monte and I have time to unwind and spend time together.

What if I devoted that kind of time and energy to my relationship with God?  What if I truly poured all of my heart and soul into knowing Him on a more intimate level?  My prayer is that this book will help me open the doors in my heart and in my life to doing just that, and that my husband and I can grow closer together as we go through this book together.

I'll keep you updated on the progress.  :)