By Angie Koenig

Untitled by Grace Urbanski via Pixabay. CCO Public Domain.

I had to take my own advice.  For those of you who read the blog a few weeks ago, I wrote a heartfelt message about the need for all of us to date Jesus.  It’s advice I was given several years ago and it completely changed my relationship with not only God but also everyone close to me.  Like all relationships though, the fire fizzled.  Not because Jesus lost interest in me, but because my human nature kicked in.  I lose faith in God at the worst possible times, and I’ll admit it – I’m afraid of commitment (I can’t even bring myself to get a fish).  As Saint Ignatius would put it, I face numerous periods of spiritual consolation and desolation, and the desolation periods unfortunately put a damper on my spiritual love life.  After writing “Dating Jesus” I really felt the Lord reminding me that just because I had overcome my commitment-phobia with Him and made a choice to stick with Him for the long haul, didn’t mean He wanted us to lose our spark.  And then came Friday night.

What’s a twenty something single girl to do on a Friday night?  Go to adoration of course.  As I was sitting at home trying to figure out the best way to waste, I mean spend, my time that night I couldn’t help but glance at a small picture I have of Jesus above my desk.  To be honest, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the picture.  Between scrolling through Netflix and my phone, I kept feeling drawn to that picture.  Then finally it hit me, Jesus was yet again courting me, and when I realized this, all I wanted was Him.  Thankfully I came to this conclusion when I still had time to get to the adoration chapel near my house before it closed at nine that night.

It was a beautiful hour and a half spent reading the Song of Songs and listening to what Jesus had to say to me in those words.  I am His beloved.  As I write these words the love of God and the love I receive from Him floods my soul.  It’s a simple love, but it’s the love we all so desperately need.  It’s a reminder that we are all wanted, willed and desired by a King whose majesty outshines that of any other yet who was humble enough to come to us where we are at, in our brokenness.  He deserved a throne yet arrived in a manger and died a criminal’s death.  Why?  Simple, He loves you, and not just then over 2000 years ago.  Jesus didn’t just love you when He sweat blood over the trials that that love would bring, not just when He suffered at the pillar, and not just when He took His last breath to deliver you from sin.  He loves you still.  Simple, beautiful, and timeless is His love for you.  And the best part is, it’s never ending.  No matter how far we may stray or how we can be so head over heels in love with Jesus one day and maybe only remember to say good morning to Him the next, He is a selfless lover.  He never fails.  We are but branches on the vine of the Creator who sustains us.

Sisters if you ever feel stagnant in your love life with the Lord, remember, fireworks come in big and small packages.  Don’t miss out on the loving little daily sparks from the Lord because you are holding out for earth-shaking explosions.  Jesus will shatter the earth if He has to to get your attention, but I think we are more likely to get those little “glances” from across the room on a daily basis.  Glances that remind us, in the eyes of the Lord, we are the most beautiful branches there could ever be.

About the Author:

Angie Koenig is a passionate follower of Jesus working her way through life as a Millennial.  She is the youngest of nine children and embraces her role as a daughter, sister, aunt and friend.  Her faith journey has had many unexpected turns and she has recently embraced her calling as a writer to witness to God’s mercy and unfailing love.  Angie currently resides in Eau Claire, WI where she enjoys anything that involves coffee.