We are new to faith. Although, I hate telling people that. Not because it makes me feel like a newbie, or that people won't take me seriously, but it's because it gives us a label. You could probably tell that we have only recently found Jesus because we look like the typical "loved up honeymooners" that you find at the beginning of a relationship. It's funny how starting a relationship with God can look a lot like starting a relationship with a new partner. It's all so new and exciting. You want to spend ALL your time together, you want to find out as many facts about each other as possible, you want to do new and exciting things together. But when all of that settles down you get to the deep and meaningful stuff. You know, when you actually start to really listen to each other, when your own negative attributes are pointed out to you, when you have to compromise your own selfish wants and when you have to actually start working at a relationship. Then you get to the point where you think "do I want to commit?", or "how serious about this relationship am I?" This is when you really start to understand God, what He has in store for us, how He works and how we can better ourselves in order to have an amazing relationship.
I am very fortunate that I found my soul mate when I was very young. God really did make us two halves of a whole! I know that sounds corny, but there are too many "coincidences" within our lives. We were born 3 days apart (rumour has it that we were conceived only a few miles apart while our parents, who don't know each other, were both on holiday), we then lived only a few miles apart for most of our lives, we went to the same primary school (but didn't know each other), then went to the same secondary school after I was transferred there in the second year. Only then did we become friends. We started "going out" when we were 14, got married by 19 and had 4 children by 29. We then found God together, at exactly the same time, with the exact same thoughts. God knew what he was doing when he put us together, and I can't wait to see what he has planned for us. After 16 years, we know what it's like to work at a relationship, to really love each other on a deeper level. We've been through births, deaths, marriages, moves, the lot. And it's not always easy, but it's a choice to work at it. A choice to want this relationship that means so much to us.
We are choosing to have this same relationship with God. We want to know Him on a deeper level, to better ourselves so that he may be "well pleased", to learn everything about him from the big facts down to the tiny quirks, to help him make us the best people we can be. And by extension help our children have that same relationship. To become a faithful family.
So while we are new to faith, we are no less ready to give our lives over to the Lord, welcome Him into our lives and allow Him to show us the way on this epic journey of faith.
