Guard it with all you've got

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."  Proverbs 4:23

        I've messed up big time here. As young women we desperately want to be known fully and completely by another. You know? "They don't understand me." "They don't get me." "I wish someone understood who I am." etc.
        And then I started dating this guy... and I'm beginning to see the hard parts of communication. I try so hard to allow him to understand me. To allow him to know me.
        And I've talked to women who are married and completely in love and have a rock-solid relationship and they have told me the same thing... they still get lonely and still have to work hard at communicating.

So, how do you get to know the guy that you want to give your heart to without giving too much away?

That's been such a difficult question for me to answer because I've asked myself this question for a while. I've talked to a lot of people that I really respect and here's just a little food for thought:

1. I've gotta be close to God before I love right. Whether that is my boyfriend, my friends, or my parents. It just falls into place. I know both sides of the coin. I mean, I understand the constant craving to go further, and I know how incredible it is to see stuff just line up when God is put first. It's like God has been loving me and teaching me how to really love others.

2. Be careful WHO you let in.
    I've seen a lot of girls who get into relationships (and I've been one myself) and have thought that is was in too deep to get out. I thought that since I had already gotten in so deep that I should be "faithful" to what I knew I shouldn't have done. Because, who likes to give up on someone? My heart had to be broken to the core before God really healed it up. It was crazy. It hurt. So, be careful about who you let in. What I mean is... don't give a piece of your heart to a guy you don't know... and what I mean by THAT is... stay away from physical stuff, saying things that are very special to you... and don't give what you don't want to.
    I don't want to make a list as to become legalistic, but be careful because I would never want any of you to ever go through what I had to. Just get to know the guy before you give to the guy. You know?

3. When you find a solid guy who loves God think about where the line will be drawn.
      The heart is such a fragile matter. What has helped me is that I want to please God with this relationship. So, for me a good start was to have a friend that I talked to about physical boundries and then got a good feel for what God wants. And, girls, I can tell you that purity is a beautiful thing in a relationship. Having NOTHING to hide has such a freedom in it.

And, this doesn't apply to JUST relationships, but this has been on my mind. I hope this is helpful and good food for thought. God wants our hearts so desperately bad. I'm still learning how to be faithful to God first. My friend recently told me that she knew she was ready for a relationship with a guy because she was confident (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that she was/ and would put God first-- no matter her relationship status.

Step-by-step. It's a choice, girls. For me. For you.
This is stuff that I struggle with daily.
And know that I'm praying for you.

You're beautiful and the life that your heart brings to the world is worth protecting.

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