Day 40- Love is a covenant

Where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. --Ruth 1:16

Today's Dare-

Write out a renewal of your vows and place them in your home. Perhaps, if appropriate, you could make arrangements to formally renew your vows before a minister and with family present. Make it a living testament to the value of marriage in God's eyes and the high honor of being one with your mate.

What has God revealed to you during the Love Dare? How have your views of your marriage changed? How committed are you to God and to your spouse? Who can you share this with as a testimony?

"The time is now, man or woman of God, to renew your covenant of love in all sincerity and surrender. Love is too holy a treasure to trade in for another, and too powerful a bond to be broken without dire consequences. Fasten your love afresh on this one the Lord has given you to cherish, prize, and honor. Your life together is before you. Dare to take hold of it and never let go. We dare you."

What a ride.

I am a crier with any emotion, but today the tears are flowing from a deep sense of gratitude, relief, and love. I am afraid that this may all sound contrite, but my entire life has changed forever. Just since the beginning of the year, I have gone from the darkest days to a spiritual awakening, and now having the most light and hope I've ever had in my life.

Some of you reading this know the darkness that has filled my life- abuse, molestation, abandonment, depression, and attempts at suicide. Even with all of these terrible events in my life, I've had a strong and loving family to hold me together. I've had enough inner strength and a desperate need to protect myself. That's why not many people know about these things, and even my very best friends didn't know how deeply depressed I was at one point.

I say all of this because even in the darkest days, when I was angry with God and denied His existence, I knew in my heart that He was there. And now I know without a shadow of a doubt that God loves me beyond anything that I will ever be able to understand. I have had the kind of spiritual awakening that I've hoped and dreamed of. I can't begin to describe it beyond saying that I am full with the spirit.

So, my question would be- What hasn't God revealed to me during the Love Dare?

My view on marriage haven't changed. I've always thought of marriage this way, but I have changed my views on love. I now know how to love my husband in the way that was intended for marriage to work. I choose to love him unconditionally. I am completely committed to God and my husband. I will sacrifice and give my all to both. I will be a vessel to carry God's love to my husband. Until my death.

I have shared this with all of you as a testimony. I pray that you have been blessed. I will continue to share this message with anyone I can. If you know someone who is struggling in marriage, please refer them to this blog. Maybe they will be inspired to take the dare.

I hope that Havie and I will renew our vows. We were not originally married in the church, and now that we are members, I think it would be wonderful to re-commit ourselves to the marriage. I guess we will see!

I am going to pass on the book to Havie now. I don't know if he will read it or not. I am not going to worry about that. I hope that he does, not for my benefit, but because I know that it has changed my life. I pray that it would do the same for him.

This is not the last of the dare for me. I will continue to do the dare forever. I plan to continue writing a blog once a week about it. Please continue reading!