True Intimacy

I've never been one to celebrate Valentine's Day. Perhaps this is a result of my childhood. My parents were never big on any market-driven holiday, but we ate our heart-shaped pancakes, told family members we loved them (like we did every day) and moved on.

During my college years the journey of singleness made me much more aware of Valentine's Day. Friends went out with their significant others and I sat alone in my dorm room wearing black in protest. A true model of maturity right there. ::Cough::

Although there was that one year when a friend and I graced our male counterpart's cubicle with bright red streamers and heart confetti - just cuz it bred annoyance. Who knew I was really pranking my future husband. Hehe.

But now I'm married and we still don't really celebrate the big love fest. But in light of yesterday's holiday, I found this post a true encouragement... and a great reminder. Here's an exerp:

Unaware of themselves in the garden, Adam and Eve walked with God,
and they were naked. They were completely exposed, and they were not
work-driven, and they did not have babies hanging on their legs, sitting on
their hips, poking their eyes, squeezing their noses, or drooling down their
backs.

Oh how we want the garden back sometimes after we have babies! Oh how sweet the garden seems when we're looking back from our over-worked positions - whatever they may be! Don't we crave such time and depth with Christ that we become one with Him, know His thoughts, and love how He loves? Don't we survive by keeping intimacy with Him, in prayer?

What is missing for me is the humility and discernment to say NO when needed, so I can say YES when needed, and I keep asking myself if I were to arrange my life so that intimacy with the Lover my soul were my priority, then wouldn't intimacy with my husband become a great byproduct of that - an overflow?

~ Taken from "An Intimacy Experiment" over at (In)Courage.