Long ago, and not so far away, there was a young girl whose heart had begun a search for love way before its due time. Her gaze was heavy with distraction and other things that would quickly lead her into disappointment. Her balance was already unsteady from unbelief. She didn’t know how love would find her, but had willed in her heart that it would be awakened, no matter the cost.

Every night, the young girl’s mother and father would tell her of a King whose eyes were made of fire, whose heart was full of love and compassion, whose hands bore the scars that bought her freedom and whose feet carried every path she would ever cross. When the young girl would hear stories about this King, she would feel drawn, driven, and determined. Every time she heard His name, it was as if something was pulling her in…but because her mind had entangled her heart, she was unable to see clearly.

Early one bright and beautiful morning, the young girl packed her things and embarked on a journey of awakening desire. She rode from town to town, looking and searching for the one her heart longed for. Her journey didn’t last long before meeting a gentleman who would take her into what seemed like a field of dreams. She was elated, but this game of love had only just begun. For she was young, full of fear and could only see past the swirling wind of emotions her hands had created.

Time passed and their desire for one another deepened, yet their hearts drifted farther and farther away. They knew the sound of truth because it echoed through each misstep their moral compass would make, and they knew this awakening had quickly turned into sinking sand. As more time passed, they felt the Author and the Finisher of this story would lead them both in new directions, but the young girl hesitated because she loved him. She loved the idea of what could be and had abandoned herself to what had been awakened on the inside.

Before long, the gentleman had to make a choice, and He chose to walk away. He chose to follow his heart and allow destiny to carry him to a place of peace and new beginnings. She was left broken, bruised, and bewildered. She had been found captive by emptiness and a wound that could have been kept safe had she guarded the gates of her heart.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and months into years. One day, the girl decided it was time to return home. Her life was now lived through the eyes of her past, and although the seasons had changed, her heart remained cold and confused—even in the face of knowing that she was the one who had knocked on the door of love. Broken and bitter, she sat down with her mother and father as she so often did in years past, and began pouring out all she had—in hopes to find a tapestry of treasure woven by the King she had once heard of. As every tear of shame, hurt and guilt emptied out from her weary soul, she felt an embrace from a presence long forgotten. As she sat and released this earthquake of emptiness, she heard a voice that rode in like a giant wave and washed over every part of her being. This King, Eternal and Everlasting, called her blessed, whole, and without blemish. He picked her up and carried her to a field that had been designed specifically for her before the dawn of time. It was in this place, that she would find freedom. She would find joy. She would find peace.  This place would become a tapestry full of color, life, and love.

In due time, the King would bring her a man who would carry her to places she never thought possible. This man had his own story and his own journey of unwanted pain and broken belief. He, too, had been led to a field by the King of Kings. He, too, had come to a place of rest, knowing that eternity brings forth promise, and promise brings forth destiny. It was in this place of rest that the man and woman would embark on a life that you’ll never find in a fairy tale. The race set before them was never one of wide roads and easy trails. The young girl who over time became a woman, wife, and mother, would never live with regret or remorse about the path she had chosen years before. She would, however, always remember what it felt like to place passion in her own hands and awaken a love far before its time.

A few weeks ago, I was asked to write about “dating.”  Personally, I feel life is better told through stories, paintings, and visuals. Through the story above, I pray you heard, saw, and experienced what Song of Songs declared when it said, “I urge you, dear daughters, do not awaken love until its time.”

Before meeting my husband, I dated around, and with each experience, my heart and emotions grew more and more weary and torn. When God sent His Son to give His life, we were not only handed a life of freedom, but were introduced to a relationship of covenant, promise, and daily communion. If you are single and searching, I urge you to seek first this promise of covenant and relationship with Jesus. Allow Him to carve out a path for your heart to abide right beside His. Memorize the sounds and the movements of His presence—it’s on that journey that He will reveal who you’re meant to be with, but most importantly, He will reveal who YOU are meant to be.

If you are currently in a relationship, I beg you to do the same, because it’s in this lifestyle of abiding that you will know whether or not the person you’re with is the right one. You will know and understand that what might seem like a good thing, might not be a God thing. He must rule and reign as the King of your heart before any other love can ever reside in its proper place.  The pathway to freedom, the journey to greatness, and the race set before us will never be one of wide roads and easy trails…but when He remains the center of it all, you won’t miss a thing!