Taking The Next Step

A girl can't help but feel a certain level of excitement when the man she loves says "it's time to take it to the next level". This is a defining moment in a relationship. It signals the moment that their relationship goes from semi committed to the real deal. Phone calls to her parents and closest friends are followed by the inevitable Facebook post and status change. You feel the excitement in her words as you read "We're MOVING IN TOGETHER!!!!" Within minutes the number of likes on her post goes from 10,25,50, to 100. The comments are all "congrats" and "get it girl it's about time". One enthusiastic poster even writes "I told you he was gone step up". As you read, you are completely perplexed. When did moving in together become taking the next step? And why hadn't anybody told you? The easy thing to do would be to just press like. Copy someone else's congratulatory message. Post it as my own. Hit send. But, something keeps gnawing at me. Something keeps making me stare at the screen waiting for the punchline, an error message, or simply to wake up. This just must be a dream. You are certain that she always talked about getting married. She always talked about raising a family and living to honor God. Now, she's super excited to be moving in together???? Now, she's championing him "taking their relationship to the next level" when the only thing that's changing is her address.... It would be so easy to just press like, but you can't. You can't pretend to be excited about someone moving in together. You can't pretend that "taking it to the next level" means anything to you except standing before God and vowing to love each other as He loves. Because that is what its all about. The next level has nothing to do with playing house. The next level is about declaring that you will love, honor, and respect her. The next level is about a covenant relationship. The next level is about where you are in your relationship with God....sigh Adayinthelife