While you're waiting...

Well, here I go again. I started a post with some big ideas, and found myself unable to finish it to my satisfaction before I leave work. That makes two now; maybe, just maybe, I'll get them done and posted next week. I hope.

The thought currently occupying my mind: Bloom where you're planted. A crass, cliched way to put a biblical truth, the truth that God wants you to follow Him and to take joy, no matter what your situation.

Today a friend of mine told Lana and me to enjoy our courtship time, because "that's the best time of your life." He said that when you get married, everything is so much harder. I'm sure that's true, but I honestly don't care, because I love Lana and if there's anything I want to do with the life God has given me, it's marrying her.

So yeah, I kinda begged to differ with his implication that being married is somehow not as good as the time beforehand (to represent him fairly, he did say that marriage is awesome, just that it's so much harder). But it got me thinking about the entire issue of being in different situations. I do need to enjoy this time of courtship with Lana; it won't last forever.

My time as a single is already complete, gone, finis. And now that it's over, I wouldn't want to get it back for anything, but that's certainly a sobering thought. Makes me want to encourage you readers out there to use your time as a single for God, as Paul admonishes us in 1 Corinthians. To me, one of the worst things about dating (and there are many bad things about it) is that it takes away that blessed time of singleness from young men and women. When you're dating, you're not married, but you still have a lot of time monopolized by another person; it's essentially the worst of both worlds. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, read 1 Corinthians 7:32-35.

So I want to enjoy this time that God has given me to court my beloved Lana; one day this time will be over and our time of marriage will begin. If you're single and just champing at the bit to find that special someone, I encourage you to wait patiently. God will fulfill that dream in His own time; in the meantime, He has great things for you as a single. Don't get so caught up in the longing to find a mate that you miss out on what He's doing in your life right now. And just don't wait on your mate; while you're waiting, let God use you in mighty ways, ways that won't be possible when you're married.

As I look back on my time as a single, I know I was not perfect, in purity or in any other area. Yet I think that, for the most part, because I committed not to date or to give any part of myself to a girl, God was able to use me in ways that simply would not have been possible otherwise. It scares me to think of how many Christian young people limit God's work in their lives by pursuing romance before His time. Don't make that mistake; use your time as a single for His glory.