During debrief, one of my squad mates, Maja, got the opportunity to talk about two things that the Lord had been teaching her. She opened to Revelation 19 where John talks about the marriage supper of the Lamb. Part of verse 6-8 says,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exalt and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and the Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”

She then turned to Ephesians 1:13-14

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”

Maja, made the analogy that the Holy Spirit that lives in me gets to be like an engagement ring, a promise of something to come. That Christ is coming back to receive his bride, the church. The Holy Spirit inside of me immediately started to stir in me and I looked down and my left hand ring finger.

For three years I have worn this ring everyday. This ring was given to me by my mama on my 16th birthday and for three years I’ve always viewed it as a “purity ring” or “yeah, Jesus has to be my husband before anyone else.” For three years I’ve worn this and really not cared to put depth behind what it could mean. Today that changed.

For three years I have overlooked how much Christ wants to love me and how He has promised me eternity with Him. For three years I have neglected the gift of His grace and love.

Jesus, Thank you for the gift of intimacy. Thank you that we as the church get to be your bride. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank you that you are coming again. Thank you for grace when I have not lived in purity. Thank you for being with me in every moment over the last three years. Thank you for making the old new. Thank you for love that chases me down.

So today, I get to walk in new depth that Christ is coming again, a new depth of knowledge on how much God loves me, and a new depth about a ring I see and wear everyday.