The Love of God

And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

According to history, this 3rd verse was penciled on the wall of a narrow room in an insane asylum by a man said to have been demented. The profound lines were discovered when they laid him in his coffin.

Cultivating Inner Beauty

Being engaged has opened a realm of new possibilities.  Such as, I never thought I’d be a wedding planner, but I am one.  An ocean between me and the Love of my Life is teaching us how to communicate well (or reveal how much more we need to learn).  Budgeting for a life of two is resurfacing all sorts of life dysfunctions I’ve acquired about money, time, and space.  But most of all, engagement is a process that reveals the mettle of my personal character and devotion to my significant other.  (Think the difference between “bridezilla and the wedding from hell” versus “one of the most memorable moments of our lives. swoon.”)  And we are helping each other discover who we are becoming.

Christi taught me so much about slowing down – being deliberate with my words, considering Christ in my decisions, to simmer rather than to burn.  For example, later after the proposal (another story for another time) I asked her, “When should we update our Facebook status?” Because as you know, it’s not official until you confess before God and Mark Z.  With a patient look, she simply asked me, “How about we take our time with this? Let’s tell our family first.”  Snap.

I’m also learning more and more that Christi is a deep person.  I can be all over the map – doing this and that, going here and there, Texas-wide and an inch deep, the busy bee, etc.  It’s not necessarily a bad thing. But she has an knack for balance. “The wider you go, the deeper I go.”  She challenges me to be a man of substance and quality, not busyness and activity.

Final reflection: I’m still processing and living out the 5 Pillars of Manhood – core principles given to me by God on how to live as His son.  Christ perfectly embodies these characteristics, and it’s an on-going process of becoming more like Him.  But if I could risk identifying one pillar of womanhood that Christi is teaching me, it’s this: Cultivate Inner Beauty.