So glad to be back to some great guest posts…today we’ve got Kit Wilkinson, an author and fellow Richmonder on Romance!

Before we get to that, I wanted to thank Megan for having me over on her blog, and let you know that there’s a new tab that explains all you need to know about The Divine Pursuit as an online study. Check it out and let me know if you have any questions!

ROMANCING OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE

So today, Nicole asked me to talk about ROMANCE because I’m a romance novelist. But I’ll be honest, even though I write stories about people falling in love, I really don’t have any inside trader secrets on what romance is and how it works. I think, perhaps, this is because romance is a relative term, meaning that it’s different to each one of us. Romance can also be elusive and mysterious, which is exactly why it makes for such great story fodder. But maybe not so easy to define and promote in our daily life.

And yet there is one thing that I believe is at the origin of all romance. And that is sacrificial love. It’s not so much WHAT we do that makes something romantic. It’s not a place or a gift or a special evening, it’s more our attitude in doing something for someone that we love.

Here’s an extreme example. A Caribbean cruise. That sounds romantic, right? So, let’s say my husband takes me on a cruise and the whole time he’s complaining about how much it costs and saying how he’d rather have paid off his car with the money for the trip. Um…miserable! I don’t know about you, but I’d rather stay at home than experience that. BUT let’s say my husband hates boats and is claustrophobic (ship rooms are very small) but just because I want to go on a cruise, he sucks it up and takes me anyway. AND (most importantly) pretends to have a WONDERFUL time all because he loves me and wants to make me happy Now, THAT is romantic.

So, what does ROMANCE have to do with your spiritual life?

EVERYTHING.

We have to take this same attitude and apply it to our spiritual life. But let’s face it sometimes it is SO hard!!! Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to. Talk to people we don’t want to. Go to events we don’t want to… here, I’ll give you another example—a real one, this time. I have caught myself many a time complaining about how I don’t have time to go to my Monday morning Bible study. Ack! Of course, once I get there, I’m so glad that I went. So why do I do that? It must be so unpleasing to God. I mean, how would you feel about having a houseguest that really didn’t want to be with you at all? That would be terrible! It would hurt your feelings, especially if you’d gone to a lot of trouble to prepare.

I think God must feel the same way about our lousy attitudes. So, let’s “fall in love” with loving and serving Christ. Let’s treat spending time with God like we would on a fabulous vacation with the love of our lives.

Let’s romance our spiritual life!

(And if you haven’t shown your spouse or the person you love romantically that your love is sacrificial, think of a way to do that too;-)

Kit Wilkinson is a mom & author living near Richmond, VA. Her latest book, Sabotage, is available everywhere. She’s currently working on her third book called “A Place Called Hope.”