Its outrageous how caught up we get in the world; in tv shows, magazines, other people, etc etc., that we start thinking that this modern day definition of "love" is true. Girls settling for much less than they deserve is what really hurts my heart. Relationship after relationship, they find a guy that treats them a little better than the guy before but never as good as they SHOULD be treated. The world says, "you need a boyfriend now!" and they make the detrimental mistake of listening, never truly taking the time to get to know themselves outside a relationship, without someone that they can hold on to. Girly romantic movies were what always did it for me. I would get caught up in the story, sweet and amazing, and would always be crying at the end because I didn't have that "happy ending" or that "amazing guy." That was my escape. Getting caught in the love story; loving it while it lasted, but by the end I would be brought back to the depressing realization that it was JUST a movie. That's what girls these days need to realize. There is a difference between movies and real life.
This is one of my favorite quotes from Joshua Harris's well known book, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye"
"The world takes us to a silver screen on which flickering images of passion and
romance play, and as we watch, the world says, “This is love.” God takes us to
the foot of a tree on which a naked and bloodied man hangs and says, “This is
love."
Waiting seems to be the hardest thing. That was the hardest thing for me. Thinking that God had a plan for me and that area of my life that I just had to be patient about; gosh that was so overwhelming. But I can tell you this for sure: All of the little on and off 2 week, 3 week, 1 month "relationship" flings I was involved in could never amount to the fullness I have in Christ right now. Those relationships would just leave me unfulfilled, empty, and seeking more companionship, that was obviously not with Christ.
I'm really not going to lie. Giving up all of that stuff and fully submitting to the Lord was one of the hardest things I ever had to do in my life. Not that I have ever smoked but I see it as the equivalent of what quitting smoking would feel like. (Like that new nicorette losenge commercial where the shark comes up and bites the man's arm, then they exclaim how much quitting sucks...haha) I will just say; it sucked, or at least I thought it did at the time. That was only because i knew nothing else. This, just like anything else that's new to someone, was in fact very strange to me. I kept going back thinking, "hm I wonder what it would be like to go back, and blah blah." That was Satan. I kept getting this constant thought in my mind of "You're alone, how pathetic." Satan again. I started getting more into the word, and established a quiet time every morning that I have grown so accustomed to, that I can't go one morning without it. I love that time so much.
Through those hard times in my life that I felt like I had no one, and that I felt I was nothing without a guy, I know 100% that that was Christ teaching me that he was the only "guy" that I needed! And its such a great feeling to know that I am complete with him. He is my other half.
Just to clear some things up girls, I'm not saying don't date. I'm simply saying that you need to learn to live without it for a season of your life, and spend that time with Christ. Relationships are good if they lead you to a better knowledge of Christ and enrich your relationship with him, and keep you on the right track, but gosh its so much deeper than that. I could go on all day about how a Godly relationship should be but I will save that for another day.
I just know that he takes certain times of our lives to teach us things so that eventually our will will line up with his. This precious time IS a gift from God. You may not see it in the beginning, but if you keep on the straight and narrow, you will eventually see that taking this time and focusing on God, rather than "when is that "one" going to come" will not only benefit you spiritually, but will also revolutionize your whole outlook on 'dating'. I can tell you from my perspective that I have honestly never been happier in my life since I decided to wait on the Lord's timing, and not my own, giving it all to him. :)
"Choosing to quit the dating game doesn’t mean rejecting friendship with the
opposite sex, companionship, romance, or marriage. We can still pursue those
things, we just choose to pursue them on God’s terms and in his time."
-Joshua Harris
I Kissed Dating Goodbye
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