I'm done. I've been done for weeks and have been reflecting on all I've learned about God and discovered about myself through reading this book. Honestly, I don't know where to begin. So, I'll start at the end.
Bell wraps up this book by telling the story of a couple whose wedding ceremony he had conducted. At their wedding the couple released balloon as a way of symbolizing the abandon of their old lives and things in their past that may prevent them from being fully united to each other. It all started perfectly, but it didn't last long and they eventually divorced. Bell tells the reader: "I finish with this story because life is messy. Gut wrenching. Risky. Things don't always turn out well. Sometimes they don't turn out at all. Sometimes everything falls apart and we wonder if there's any point to any of it. We're tempted to shut ourselves off, fortify the walls around our hearts, and forge ahead, promising ourselves that we will never open ourselves up like that again."
I have to be honest, I've been there. I've had relationships end in a less than ideal fashion. I've been hurt and have had those moments of wondering if I would ever find someone I could fully trust. I've had those gut wrenching moments where the tears falling down my face were evidence of a broken heart. But I've also experience what Bell leaves the reader encouraged with. He writes: "But I have to believe that we can recover from anything. I have to believe that God can put anything - anyone - back together. I have to believe that the God Jesus invites us to trust is as good as he says he is. Loving. Forgiving. Merciful. Full of grace."
God has designed sex and marriage in such a way that it gives us a glimpse into the ways in which he loves us. Pursuit, rejection, joy, sadness. The intensity with which we love in romantic relationships gives us insight into God's intense love for us. But that's just where it starts. As fulfilling as relationships, marriage, and sex can be in our lives on Earth, God's love for us can fulfill us even more. While earthly relationships fail and disappoint us, God's love for us never ends or runs dry. I've heard that before, and I've honestly always believed it. But Bell's perspective and approach to this subject made this truth real for me in a way that it never had been before.
Relationships on Earth will never be perfect. Our hearts will be broken and what God intended for good at times may leave us feeling more empty than we can ever imagine. But it is in those moments, the ones where are hearts are aching and we feel alone, that God can encourage us and love us in a way that will truly change our lives. It is in those moments when we understand our need for connection and seek out connection with our creator. It is when we can identify with God and his relentless pursuit of us. While some in life may bail out or run away, God never leaves. In good times and bad. For better or worse.
And that is what this book is about.