The world in which we live purses us from our earliest days in a kind of romance, trying to convince us that it will fulfill all of our desires. But, it is a liar! The romance of the world seduces us to believe that its enticements will bring us lasting satisfaction and the love we desire, but it does not. It teases and tempts and promises so much but once we begin to believe that it speaks truth, it wraps us in chains and walks away, leaving us empty, alone, broken, hurt, and disillusioned....

...When I was young, I believed that what I needed was out there and all I had to do was to pursue it. And, I did, but even gain was loss. Every victory was a short-lived joy. Every achievement turned to rust.

So, I began to seek a love who was different, rejected by the world. He was not attractive that I would desire him but he had been on the hunt, looking for me before I ever began to pursue him. With a skeptical eye, jaded by my romance with the world, I dared him to love me and satisfy the longings of my heart. Year after year I tested his patience, hoping beyond hope that his love was real. It was not a sentimental journey I was on but one to find truth, hope, and freedom.

The one who loved me with a real love, a lasting love, could do so because He was love. He created love and He created me. He set me free from the heartache of my false lover and taught me to hope, to trust, to be all that I can be, no longer dancing to the tune of this world but fulfilled in the reality of the love of my Lord and my God.

Debbie Banna