His Arms Are Wide Open

I was listening to some music today and I found this song and it made me think. People are looking for love and they search and search and search and when they think they find it...it leaves them emptier than they were before. Alot of people have their own idea of what they think love is or what it should look like. Listening to the words of this song has me look back into my own past and see what it is I thought love was. I made many mistakes in the past with the relationships I got myself into. I let men use me because of the sweet words they would try to say to me and make me feel like they loved me when they really didn't. They wanted what they could get from me and I was foolish enough to give it to them. Even as a born again christian I had my struggles in the past with giving myself freely to the person I was with. Yes I am talking about sex. As Christians we know it isn't right to have sex outside of marriage but our need to have someone love us back sometimes clouds our thinking when we are not in tune with God. When we keep him first in our lives and we let him show us the love he has for us and what he has done for us then nothing else seems to matter. It took me a long time even as a christian to get my thinking straight and to keep him first in everything. I struggled for years with it and was ashamed of myself for letting myself get into relationships with men and have sex when they wanted to with me. The pain ran deeper inside me than I would ever let anyone know, but God knew. He was waiting for me to say I give it all to you and let him come in and repair the hurt and to heal all the scars left behind. I am here today to say that he has healed my hurts of the past and now God is placing inside me more of him. I like how this song says: "If anybodys looking for love in all the wrong places
If youve been searching for love, come to Me. Come to me.
Take up your cross. Deny yourself.
Forget your fathers house and run. Run with Me.
Cause you were made for abandon your heart and listen
Cause you were made for Someone greater, Someone bigger, so follow Me.
And youll come alive when you learn to die.
And He said to me...You shall love me."

This song brought me to tears today, because I know how hard the road was for me and I see so many people out there who are on the same path I was and some even worse than me. It pains my heart to see people hurting and looking for love in all the wrong places. My prayer is that they find Jesus and let him love them just as they are and right where they are.