Things like hand-me-downs & love stories.

Let's talk unicorns.
    I don't know how good it is to ask a reader to begin with a daydream, but I'll give it a shot & pray you snap out of it before reading the whole post. So here I am. Will you daydream with me? Let's make it a date. Slip into your mind with me for the next few minutes. I want you to put your all into this one thing. A love story. If you could make the blueprint for your perfect love story, what would it look like? I mean anything. Your wildest dreams come true. A love story with no limits, where the cheesy is reality.
    I feel like I need to clarify. Because I'm not asking you for an Americanized 21st century love story. Not I want a Bill Gates kind of businessman rolling in the doe from New York City. We're talking unicorns. Childish, innocent dreams, ignorant to reason. I have yet to hear of a little girl dreaming of a business man. (not saying there's anything wrong with business men...)
    As little girls, before we even have crushes on the neighbor boy, when boys still have cooties, we are captivated by fairy tales. We believe in magic as we sit on our thrones of bricks stacked behind the barn, with our knotted wands with few straggling leaves left behind. Flowers in our hair, pink tutus in place, & plastic heels clomping, we await for our prince to come sweep us off our feet onto the back of the white horse where he takes us to our new castle. We skip the small, or rather, feasible- I want a man to give me a kingdom, crown, & authority. I want a Cinderella story. Give me a fairy tale.
    So now you know my foolish, deepest wish. I want royalty. I'd hope that in your wildest dreams you're not settling for anything less. We're all on the same page. But maybe we're searching for something that's already ours.

Large & in charge. 

You are always with me, & everything I have is yours.

LUKE 15:31, THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SON

    The words God breathed into the bible were very much on our side. He's given us everything we need to conquer today, constantly reassuring us that He is right at our fingertips. Through Jesus Christ, we have been qualified as rightful heirs to the kingdom of light.
    I think often times as women we feel as if we were made second best to men. That God made Adam, & made Eve with the importance of an extra in a film. The men are the rightful heirs, & we're stealing the candy God offered them out of the bowl when they're not looking. We get the hand-me-downs. With few lines, we're supposed to stand on the sidelines, wait for our cue & do as we're told. We think that when God breathed life into the Bible, he wrote it to the men, & we as the women get a sneak peak at what he's saying to them. But I have glorious news for you. When he wrote to the men, he was speaking to his beloved daughters, as well.

Kings' daughters are among your noble women.

At your right side stands the queen...

Listen to me, O royal daughter; take to heart what I say.

Forget your people & your family far away. 

For your husband delights in your beauty;

honor him, for he is your Lord.

(Psalm 45:9-10)

Who can find a virtuous & capable wife?

She is more precious than rubies.

Her husband can trust her,

& she will greatly enrich his life.

She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life...

She is energetic & strong,

a hard worker...

She is clothed  with strength & dignity,

& she laughs without fear of the future.

When she speaks her words are wise,

& she gives instructions with kindness...

Charm is deceptive, & beauty does not last;

but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

(Proverbs 31)

    & the best part is God doesn't just talk the talk about the women. He walks the walk, using women as the helpers he made us to be! For example most of us have heard of Ruth & Naomi. (RUTH) A whole book dedicated to the faithfulness behind two women & God's blessing that overflowed from them. Another example is found in the book of Joshua, when Rahab, a prostitute, let the spies stay in her house with her, hiding them & assisting them back over the city wall so the Lord's people could have her town (JOSHUA 2). There was also the wife who helped hide King David in her well when he was being hunted by his son Absalom, who wanted his kingdom. (2 SAMUEL 17:16-20) Or even when Abigail interceded for her nasty husband, who had deeply angered David to the point he was about to destroy the whole household? (1 SAMUEL 25:1-42)) God is not afraid to use us because of our gender- he is captivated by our beauty & our capabilities! There's your confidence; receive that truth. God, who handcrafted the Universe, teaches the birds to sing, & commands the sun to rise every morning to this day, adores you. It's love & it's plentiful. He's given us the keys to his kingdom, everything we need at our fingertips & in our reach. Knock, & the door will be opened. 

You don't have a man, & you're going to be okay. 

JOHN 3:16 | ROMANS 5:8 | 1 PETER 2:9 | 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 | PSALM 18:35

    You're going to be better than okay. You are going to make it. With flying colors. Because the truth is that society is lying to you when they make not being in a relationship abnormal. Society says we are defined by our relationships. Don't have someone? Something is clearly wrong with you. Maybe you've got the looks but it's the second you open your mouth & can't have an intelligent conversation. Maybe in reality you smell & all of your friends are only friends with you because they feel sorry that you'll be alone forever. Maybe you aren't wearing the right clothes. You need a style, so that way you can fall into a category that certain men are attracted to. Nothing a good book couldn't fix, build you into the person that is on high demand. Society says never stop searching. The right one's gotta be out there somewhere.
    God says shut your eyes. Shut your eyes & open your heart. No, I'm not talking blind dates. I'm going to tell you someone is pursuing you if you'd shut the world out for a millisecond & open yourself to a God who won't relent. God loved the whole world so much that he gave his only son as a sacrifice to cover our mess. When we couldn't reach him, he bent down to be eye level with his creation. He doesn't wait to see if we'll choose him, or if we decide to pursue something with him. God doesn't play those mind games. He chose us when we were still messy children, covered in sin. & he didn't just think we had potential. He loved us. He called us his own. He cleansed us by his son & called us brand new, anointed children of the King of Kings. Which in turn renames you & I. We're not just average joes. We are heirs & heiresses. We are royalty. & we have more than our wildest imagination of a love story. So dream on. We aren't marked by who on this God given earth thinks we're lovely, because whether people think it or not we are. God wants us. Passionately. We are in the midst of the greatest love story, hands down. So reach for it. Feel it. & Embrace it.