IT PLEASES ME TO BE WITH YOU!

This mornings blog is one I had used early on in Morning Glory but because we are coming up on Valentines Day I thought these next few days we should dwell upon the subject of love, chocolates and little things that mean a lot.

The movie "Rooster Cogburn and the Lady", with John Wayne and Kathryn Hepburn, had a line in it that both Jim and I began to use as ours. Rubin was a blustery type of fellow and Kathryn was an outspoken spinster who was bent on following God’s word as she knew it. On the trail to safety they became fond of the battles of wit between them and became comfortable with each other. At one point Rubin says to her; "It pleases me to be with you". Through the years Jim has remembered our favorite lines from movies and would say them to me or write them on cards. Even though these lines are second hand, I always feel Jim’s love for me when he uses them. Makes me feel very warm and special, especially this line, It is not only fun, it is true!

Love is such a simple word to describe the magnitude of emotions that love is. Love can be full of excitement which fills your stomach with butterflies and the feeling of being on a roller coaster. Love can fill you with heartache because of unrequited love or because of watching a Love One in heart wenching situations. When you lose a loved one your love is torn and tossed about as you grieve. But then Love can be filled with the pleasures of just being together. This kind of love is full of peace and comfort and fun. It allows us to see beauty in all things and when you feel that special someone take a hold of your hand, you feel safe and secured.

Why is it that we can’t just be satisfied with what we have. We think we would be much happier if we had that or if we had a bigger one. This color is not me, but oh look at that color! We have a tendency to use the word love for foods that we like. We love that house. I love that movie! I love this or I love that. We are certainly a complex people, aren’t we? I can’t remember what it was that Danny loved, but he was exclaiming how he loved it and his Grandma quickly set him straight. "You can’t love an inanimate object, because it can’t love you back". All of these things that I have just mentioned, that we say we love, have never loved us back and eventually they are gone. This word love, has become so common, we forget what it means and how we should be using it.

God thought the word "love" was so important that He placed it in the greatest commandment of all as the chatelaine that holds His Kingdom together. Mark 12:30-31 says; "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these". There is a song that says; "I Love Him because He first loved me". Sometimes that is how it works! When Jim told me for the first time that he loved me, I knew I did not love him like he loved me. I liked him! He was a nice guy! Today, I love him so much I am sure it makes the angels shout for joy. It pleases me to be with him! In John 3:16 it is recorded; "That God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." In other words, God is saying; "It pleases me to be with you"!

What is your response to the Father? Does it please you to go to Him in prayer? Does it please you to be in His house when the doors are open? Does it please you to see His face in nature all around you? Do you relish the moments of watching others praising God? I would like to think my response would be; "Lord, it pleases me to be with you, today and everyday! It reminds me of a chorus that says; "I love you Lord and I lift my voice, to worship you, oh my soul rejoice"! Yes, it pleases me to be with Him and It pleases me more, that Jim and I find pleasure in our Lord together. Think on these things! Finding pleasures in our world brings pleasure to our Lord who gave us our world. By Jane Ann Crenshaw 1/28/08