The Summer of Love...

---

SUMMER OF LOVE 1967, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

From a distance, it portrayed the idealization of a lifestyle free of inhibition and cultural restraints… love for love’s sake… the yearning for genuineness, acceptance… it felt right. To bond as a couple ought to be more than “I punch a clock while she holds down the fort…” Status quo, mowing the lawn, BBQ’s, nine-to-five, boring, stifling… there seemed a better way.
​
Yet, what materialized was something other. As the bohemian songwriter wrote:

---

Looks like freedom but it feels like death
It’s something in between, I guess
Closing Time by Leonard Cohen

​What was missing? Without a heartfelt submission to the Lord Jesus Christ our innate narcissism spins out of control. Life becomes a shopping mall to satisfy the whims of our wants and passions. In today’s vernacular, it might be called “friends with benefits.” 

​OUR SUMMER OF LOVE 2018, VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON

Carol and I met last fall. While I ministered in Texas and Indiana from January to May (including a side trip to Cancun), we corresponded daily. Once back in Washington, investing time in our relationship was natural and fun. Carol even skipped her annual summer missions trip to Japan to see what the outcome might be. She said “Yes” in July. We said “I do” in October.

Discovering common bonds and experiences was almost a daily occurrence. We learned that the two of us are one of a kind. We know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. We gave our hearts and lives to be missionaries. We lost our spouses while actively serving in countries not our own. We enjoy authors like Tim Keller and John Piper. We thrive on animated conversation. We want to keep writing…

We are buoyed by the renewed affirmations of Bible truth we have experienced. True freedom is only found in a monogamous relationship. True joy in a monogamous relationship arises from a convergence of being grounded in the Word, matured by long lives lived in living color, and crystalized through grief.

We are blessed by the joy that comes with the intimacy worth waiting for until after the wedding.

We are left speechless by the providential way we met. Resigned to life alone, we did wonder at times about a future with someone else. We felt available, but we weren’t out there looking. Then we met… through Carol’s daughter who pointed her to my blog. We are amazed, but maybe we shouldn’t be. God has crafted each of our lives as one single piece, from birth to death. We can rest in that!

We are humbled by amazing grace: a salvation so full and free through the shed blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. We are accepted without blemish before God. Our eternal destiny is sealed. How dare we ask for more? Yet, he doesn’t wait for us to die to bless us. He delights in giving attention to detail. His generosity knows no bounds.

There is much we have yet to learn, but we can guarantee at least two things:

1. No human being will complete you and make you whole. Only a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ will. Whatever your present situation, the Apostle Paul’s words apply:
   "But godliness with contentment is great gain,"  (1 Timothy 6:6)
2. ​You have everything and everyone you need--RIGHT NOW--to be and to serve in God’s kingdom. As you serve him, doors will open for you according to his sovereign design and infinite love for you.
   "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."  (2 Corinthians 9:8)​ 

---