Wednesday, September 9, 2015

how I fell in love at sixteen


"You don't know what love is"
"You are too young to understand"
"You're too young to settle down"

That's what I heard as a teenager and guess what?  They were right.  At sixteen I was caught in a whirlwind of emotions and like most teens I thought I had it all figured out.  At that age you feel like you can conquer the world and that anything is possible.  You have your entire life ahead of you and you're young enough to change your mind a few times.

Here is the thing about love.  It defies everything that makes sense.  It stops you dead in your tracks.  It throws you a curve ball and just like that all your plans are out the window.  I was in love at sixteen.  I didn't go out looking for it.  In fact, I can remember telling him that I had no interest in having a boyfriend.  I didn't want to be tied down.  I was just starting my junior year in high school and I had plans for my life.  However, love trumps life.

I met my future husband at a party.  It was a party that I hadn't even planned on going to, but my parents wouldn't allow my little sister to attend without me.  A mutual friend introduced us and while it wasn't exactly fireworks, there was definitely a solid chemistry.  Have you ever met someone and felt like you have known them for years?  That was us.  Conversation flowed, butterflies ensued, and the rest was history.  He was different.  He was my ideal.  The more we talked, the more we found we had in common and we became instant friends.  I was going to church, and he was willing to go with me and we even prayed together.  It was all looking so promising.

Then entered compromise...

With the intense feelings came the willingness to jeopardize things.  That's where we stumbled and fell.  We started lying, sneaking, and doing everything else we weren't supposed to... and it was all for the sake of love.  As you already know, you can't go on forever making the wrong choices.  Eventually it catches up to you and God reveals your secrets.  He teaches you a lesson.  I was about to learn mine at seventeen and by way of an unplanned pregnancy.  Jesus has a way of intervening when we start putting things (whether plans or people) before Him.  Sometimes it takes a slap to get your attention.

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces
a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
Hebrews 12:11

See, God wanted me to remember my first love.  He was my first love and I should have been obedient to Him and seeking HIS will in my life, not my own.  He used my teen pregnancy to get my eyes back on Him.  I wish I could say the shift in my attention was immediate.  No, I'm afraid it took years of Him disciplining me.  My pregnancy was just the starting off point.

"Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path;
the one who hates correction will die."
Proverbs 15:10

If that verse seems harsh then that is because the truth hurts.  If we don't heed correction we will die in our sin.  We will be consumed by chaos and choked out by our own pride.  God offers us peace if we would only accept His gift and turn from our messy, thoughtless, selfish ways.  I thank Jesus for being so patient with me.  I'm so grateful that at seventeen He reminded me that TRUE love was Him dying on a cross so that I could live.  You see,  it is true.  Love trumps life.  His love most definitely trumps mine.




Thank you for reading.  See you again soon!
Natalie


Linking up at #TellHisStory

6 comments:

  1. Thank you Natalie for your testimony of courage and love,Amen,beautiful post,peace and love always Jeff.

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    1. Thank you so much John. I appreciate you taking the time to write to me. Stop by again soon :-)

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  2. Thank you for your testimony! May God continue to mold and to shape you into the person he purposed for you to be. God bless you!

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    1. Thank you Shaneeka! All glory be to god. May He bless you as well.

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