I’ve searched for love all my life. Growing up with Disney Princess movies, I have always dreamed of my future fairytale, my romantic story that would be told for generations.

In high school, I thought I had found it. I was in a relationship that made me weak at the knees just thinking about him. When we were together, we could hardly keep our hands off of each other. The romance was there, the intimacy was there…but there was no love.

I didn’t realize that missing piece until it was too late, when the world came crashing down around me and I found myself surrounded by the debris of the life I thought I was building. I had lost friends, disappointed my parents, and was so ashamed of all I had done, all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and hide from the world (and God) forever.

I thought I had lost romance, and love, forever.

Then I got to college and I found myself in yet another knee-buckling relationship. I knew we were building our foundation again on chemistry, but still I convinced myself that maybe this was the real deal; perhaps this was the fairytale I had always dreamed of. But once the fireworks faded, I found myself again staring at the chasm of shame and guilt created from exposing my heart, emotions, and body too early.

Finally, I hit my breaking point.

I was tired of broken relationships, of meaningless make-out sessions, and of constantly searching for the romance I so desperately craved.

I turned to God because honestly, He was my only choice left.

I decided to fast from dating for a year. For me, the parameters were set clear: no one-on-one time with any man for an entire year.

I figured that maybe by setting that year aside, God would honor my decision and bring the right man to me, setting us up with a romance to rival all the movies.

And boy, did He ever.

No, my future husband did not appear with a dozen roses and a perfect engagement ring. But God showed me a romance filled with love that I had never before experienced – a romance that came straight from Him. God, the creator of romance Himself, began romancing me.

When I worshipped, my heart leapt and my stomach did flips just like it used to when a cute boy would walk in the room.

When I walked through campus, a butterfly would follow me all the way to class and the sun planted warm kisses on my cheek.

When I prayed, I found myself beaming from ear to ear because I could feel God right beside me, listening to me and whispering sweet things softly in my ear.

This didn’t all happen overnight. But the more time I spent actively pursuing God, the more He filled those voids I had been seeking to cover up for so long, the more He healed me from my pain and erased my shame and guilt, and the more He delighted me with romantic gestures that He knew were just right for me.

God invented romance. God created our hearts to flutter and our knees to go weak. And He knows us so intimately, that He knows exactly what it takes for that to happen.

Spend some time talking with God today, and surrender the space in your life that has been longing for romance. Give it up to Him, and He will delight you in a way that only He can. Open yourself up to His awesome, sweet love and let Him speak to the deepest parts of your heart that few will ever know. I promise you, you will never see romance the same way again.