I think all teenage girls would agree that we’re bombarded with the idea of romance. Chick flicks, books, Pinterest, and music, the list goes on… I admit that I love a good sappy romance book or movie from time to time. But I think many girls can relate to sitting in the dark as the credits are rolling at the end of ”A Walk to Remember”, and feeling your heart sink. We’ve been told time and time again that love like we see on screen isn’t a reality. But deep down, I think sometimes we all desire a love like that. All it takes is a song on the radio. Maybe it’s just seeing a cute couple walk by you, or even a picture on Instagram. We all know the feeling of longing. Something that makes you think “I want that.”
I’ve had a half-completed version of this post sitting in my drafts for a few days now, but when the news hit that Nicholas Sparks and his wife of 25 years have separated, I had to start typing. When we see the most “romantic” Hollywood relationships crumble, it makes us realize that something is missing. Now I don’t personally know much about romance, but I do know that we live in a culture obsessed with it. It doesn’t take much searching to come to that conclusion. My Tweet List is full of tweets each day with pictures of cute couples captioned “relationship goals.” Pinterest is full of quotes about love, romantic date ideas, and wedding ideas. Successful movies usually have a love triangle. Most hit songs are love songs. We often see stories of a romantic way a guy proposed to his girlfriend. We obsess over romance, and we find a craving for romance in our own lives. I recently read “Loveology,” and a quote stood out to me…
You think you’re craving romance, but you’re really craving God. -John Mark Comer in “Loveology”
God created us for love, and I think it’s great to look forward to and enjoy relationships. I just see so many girls my age who feel like they need a boyfriend, and they rely on their boyfriend to take them on fancy dates, and buy them nice gifts, and tell them that they’re loved fifteen times a day for their acceptance. And there’s nothing wrong with those things, girls deserve to be treated as special and be respected. The problem is when that’s where we draw our security. God created a void in our hearts. A desire to love and to be loved. But we will never satisfy that desire with “romance.” God is the source of our security, our fulfillment, our romance. I think we need be confident in God’s acceptance before we put someone in a position where they might influence our feeling of acceptance. We won’t ever be satisfied with love if we’re not satisfied with God because God is love. Your worth is not based on whether you have a boyfriend or not. It just breaks my heart to see girls who are crushed because they don’t have a boyfriend. God radically loves you and pursues you and he has a divine plan and a purpose for your life. He is enough. You are already loved and accepted by God, and that is all you need. After all, the most romantic act of love we could ever imagine has already been done for us when Jesus died on the cross.