This is true and extremely important. I always listened to your radio program
since I converted at the age of 14. And from an early age, I learned the order of things: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.” Yes. And this is how it happened. First, I sought to have an encounter with God, I put all my strength into it. I needed the Holy Spirit to guide me in my youth, to be happy first, before wanting to make any other person happy. I gave 100% and received 100% from Him. The other things were added. Wisdom to make decisions, the character of God in my being, balance, inner peace, maturity… Even though I was only 15, I received a wisdom that the world or any college degree could possibly give me.
After this and once I was already doing the work of God as an assistant, I did as you said, which is to take care of my love life, who would be my future partner. I was not anxious, I was not worried, it was still early to start dating someone, but not too early to learn and prevent someone from deceiving me.
I always said a prayer you once taught us: “My Father, don’t let me be fooled by wolves in sheep’s clothing. I can only see the exterior, but the Lord knows and examines the heart. Protect me, and may I find someone in the future, who has the same goals as me. And together, may we add to Your Kingdom.”
I remember that because I was still so young, I told God that if he was still in the world, God would have to bring him to Church and convert him. I wanted to see him be delivered, born of God and sealed with the Holy Spirit, this way I would get a close up look at his character. I did this and believed. The time did not matter; I knew God was taking care of me, because every day I placed everything in His hands.
And so it happened. The man who is now my husband came to my Church, was delivered, had an encounter with God, we were assistants together, and then he went to serve God on the Altar.
My husband was my first boyfriend, I was 18 years old. We got engaged one year later, and were married the following year. Today we have been married for 7 years and we’re very happy. We serve God on the Altar with much joy. And I can say that when we follow the correct order of things and the Word of God, we are very blessed. He does much more than we think or ask. There is no way that we can move forward unless we have His Direction. With Him, there is no need to get it wrong several times trying to get it right. His direction is always correct and brings security and peace.
I still take care of this area of my life. I understand that our spiritual life and love life go hand in hand. When we have a good relationship with God, we have a great relationship with everyone around us, especially with our spouse. And if we are careful to invest in our life with God, we must take the same care to invest in our love life.
Mariane Matos