The Love Tank

Gary Chapman, in his book The Five Languages Of Love talks about waking up every morning and imagining you have a Love Tank which tells you how loved you fell... He challenges that when we speak each others love languages our tanks are full and when we don't they run from half-full to empty depending on how loved we feel.

The concept of speaking each others love languages is something that makes a whole lot of difference I have come to understand... there is a deep bond that forms when you choose to love a person as they would like to be loved even when it is not convenient for ourselves. However the thought that our love tank needs to be filled daily and maintained by the ones we love I find a little daunting. It is true, but without Gods love which is the binding force filling our tanks would we be able to freely give or receive love in a way that the other person desires to be loved?

Love to me, is a choice we make, daily, to freely give of oneself to another. And without a relationship with God to help fill our tanks to full and overflowing, I would think it would be hard.

So Yes, even the shortest phone call from my love makes me light up like a city at night and I feel like my tank is all filled up again and then sometimes there are those days when anything from Gods creation a perfect rainbow to a child's smile can fill my tank back up again. Bottom line, Without God strengthening our inner man daily I doubt we could keep each others tank full and overflowing!

Dear Mister God this is @ina... May we walk with you daily, in all that we do.

The One I Belong To

Perhaps every one has a moment in life when you realize yes, this is the man or woman I want to be with the rest of my life and then sometime later there follows a moment when everything within you awakens to the fact that this is the person you belong to. Its a simple moment of knowing not just that he or she is the one for you but realizing that together we are one.

For me, that moment was shortly after our wedding one evening. We came to know that he would have to leave back to our home in another country without me and I would have to join a little later due to some other issues. That was not the way we had planned it and we were disappointed. I looked into his eyes and saw a sadness that broke my heart, it was only a day ago that I was so content seeing those same eyes dance with joy.

Words sometimes are meaningless at these moments and I lay on his shoulder and cried. He held me close and assured me by just being there listening, holding, sobbing with me within but being brave for me on the outside. I felt so much better and could smile again, I knew he was hurting but he choose to smile for me.

That was the moment when I understood what it meant to belong, what it meant to be one.

Dear Mister God this is @ina... Continue to bind us in love in one heart, one mind and one spirit. Amen.

A Three Part Harmony

As a young girl I loved to watch old British movies - the girls in their frilly frocks, the men in their multi-layered coats, the elaborate dinners, beautiful ballroom dances, and the couples who would go for long walks hand in hand... So when I think of a harmony, what comes to my mind is a room exquisitely decorated with a fire place, a pianist playing on a grand piano a melodious piece of music and a couple who dance to the tune in delight. They all seem to be in one accord, the pianist, the music and the dancers.

Well, marriage is a lot like ballroom dancing I think. Without God the creative musician, we just would not be able to dance... but with God, there is a harmony, a beauty that keeps us on one accord. You have to trust your partner to take the lead, you have to both keep pace with each other so you don't step on each others feet, you have to listen to the music and dance to the beat and as you watch a couple who have practice dancing together you can see that they almost anticipate each others next move, graciously they glide together like one entity around the room, enjoying being in each others arms and smiling knowing that together they are beautiful.

Mister God this is @ina... May we always dance to the tune of the Father, through the example of his Son and the guidance of the Holy Spirit God.

The End and the Beginning

I spent time on my roof top today thinking about an era of my life when I think life has been simple... Pleasing God was my one desire, loving my parents was all I could want, family and friends took me as I am and being good at my work was a blessing from above. Many an evening have I spent basking in a sunset or watching the birds or enjoying the wind or awed by the stars and silenced by the full moon. Its my God and me place where I sing, pour my heart out to him, dance, cry, laugh and just take life in. Over the last few years I have travelled a lot and the roof top has not been as much my secret place as it used to be but wherever I go I have managed to find that quiet place where my maker and I can just talk.

This era is coming to an end and its time for me to move out from my home so I can build a home of our own. Leaving the home I have called my own and the family I adore to go to a new place in a totally different timezone all together is not a very easy step but I am blessed with an able man, who I love, admire and respect, which makes this step seem a little easier to take than I thought it would be.

With every end I am realizing there is a new beginning and this may seem to be an end to an era of my life but love never ends and all that really matters are relationships in this era which I have no doubt will evolve and grow with many new surprises along with this new exciting beginning in my life.

Dear Mister God, this is @ina . . . With every end comes new beginnings, together help me to grow, evolve, build and blossom in all that is to come!