She decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot, declares the Lord. Therefore, I am now going to allure her. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. Hosea 2:13

I wake up, wishing I could sleep just a little longer, and drag myself out of bed. The main thing on my mind is myself. What to wear? Brush my teeth. Look in the mirror. Think of my schedule. List of to-do’s.

I am consumed–even if so innocently–consumed with myself. I am the love of my life at these shallow moments of waking. Stripped of all my inhibitions, when no one is looking, I find that there is only myself. I am the lover of my own soul.

Like the woman in Hosea, I continue on through the day, only aware of myself, living to please myself, to impress those around me with beauty, humor, spirituality, and good deeds.

All the while, despite my selfishness, God is beckoning for me to come. “Come to my side; come and meet me. Come, put yourself aside and walk toward my voice.” Beckoning faithfully, he whispers to me throughout the day alluring me with His words of love.

When I am finally able to follow His voice, He takes me and strips me of my “decent” appearance and pulls me into the dry desert so that my wandering eyes have nowhere else to look but to Him. And there He speaks to me; there He gently reminds me that this world has so very little to offer. There, He tenderly tells me that I am His beloved and He is mine. He tells me that this is where the greatest joys can be found. And He is right, because only there, have I ever felt such love. It is beautiful and perfect with Him and I find that He is all I ever wanted and needed.

I leave the desert and enter into my life again. This time the world becomes gray unless it is identified with Him–for now I realize there is nothing worth glancing at, nothing worth aiming for, nothing worth investing in–unless it can bring me back to Him.

Lord, pull me into solitude with you…speak tenderly to your child. Be the lover that consumes my mind this day.

Let Him be your all.

Debra K. Fileta and her husband John currently reside in Hershey, PA. There, she practices as a Professional Counselor at Safe Harbor Christian Counseling. She acquired a Masters of Arts in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. Debra has a passion for the broken, and is actively involved in both inner city and international missions. Through her writing, she hopes to challenge and inspire others to find their place in doing God’s work. Her love for writing has found its niche in writing devotions and reflections on scripture, and she hopes to publish a book of reflections from the lessons she’s learned. She recently developed a blog of personal reflections that can be found at www.debslessonslearned.blogspot.com. Read Debra’s devotions