A Divine Romance

"Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one whom my soul loves. 
I held him and would not let him go." 
Song of Solomon 3:4

The railroad tracks were silent and straight before me. Scrawny, wind-whipped weeds curled around the heavy metal tracks. Large nails bolted the rail in place; a misplaced nail laid at my feet. I looked up: there before me was--nothing, yet everything. The tracks went on as far as my eye could see, into an unknown. 

The haze of distance covered the track's end. My eyes weren't created to see that far--dozens, maybe hundreds, of miles. Yet I found myself wanting to know where the tracks ended! I wanted to see where they could take me. Then a thought struck me: what if we could see everything within a hundred miles with our small eyes? What chaos! 

I think there's a reason He did things the way He did. 

I shivered as my heart sympathized with the metaphor. though: what chaos would there be if I knew all the things--all the steps--I am constantly wanting to know? Like many, I am guilty of living in tomorrow, or the next day, month, year instead of today. How often I look at the few steps before me, resenting step five and six that I don't know. 

Yet I think there's a reason He does things the way He does. 

There's a reason why He asks me to be content with step one before step two, step two before step three.... Our Father seems to have this thing for creating faithful people. You can almost picture His kind eyes as He makes the haze a little thicker on the path before you; He seems to value a people who can live on a promise, learning and loving the Promise-Giver. 

As I looked down at the railroad ties before me, I suddenly saw this Divine Romance that could gently unfold if I had the heart and eyes to see it. When I feel the pains of thick haze (all the questions, all the unknowns), as He fashions me into a vessel for honorable use, maybe He's just trying to get at my heart. 

Is it possible that He wants to woo me to Himself in such a way that I forget about everything else--all that I don't know? 

Somehow, I think step five and six would become irrelevant if I were caught up in a love story with my Redeemer, giving glory and praise to Him who has given me eyes to see the one step before me.