My eyes often focus on the tiny silver ring that wraps around one of my fingers. I’ve had this ring since I was thirteen. It’s a purity ring. Inscribed in the silver are three simple and life-changing words: “True Love Waits.”
Most of the time I’ve worn this ring, I thought it symbolized saving my first kiss for my wedding day or my sexual purity for my wedding night. In a way it does mean that, but I’ve come to realize it means so much more.
God has gently revealed to me what “True Love Waits” really means.
- It means you love your future spouse enough to place your future hopes and dreams into God’s all powerful, sovereign hands.
- It means you wait patiently for your future groom.
- It means giving your desires and longing to Jesus for safekeeping.
- It means being busy doing kingdom work instead of pining for Mr. Awesome.
It can be hard to let go of your future and slip it into the hands of an unseen God. But the unseen God is not an unknown God. He is the perfect Daddy (Rom. 8:15), the most amazing guardian (Ps. 23:1–4), and the best friend a girl could ever ask for (John 15:15).
Learning to Wait Well
Are you waiting to fall in love, get engaged, go on dates, and hopefully marry the man of your dreams? So far, maybe that hasn’t happened. You’re still waiting, and time is still ticking. Day-to-day life becomes boring and monotonous, and you wonder if you will ever get to experience the love that so many movies and Facebook relationships portray.
I know exactly how you feel, because I’ve had those same thoughts and feelings. But God showed me a mind-blowing thought a while ago, and I’m going to let you in on the secret. Ready?
God wants to use you in these single years. You don’t have to sit around wondering about, dreaming of, and planning for the day you will fall in love and begin a relationship with someone. You can do something big right now.
Just think of Mary—she was planning the dream wedding when she learned she would be the mother of Jesus. What about Ruth? After her husband died, she was single and living with her mother-in-law, but she got busy and went to work to serve and bless Naomi instead of mourning and waiting around for when her life would begin again. It was the same with Esther, Rachel, and Rebekah. These are ladies who did more than just sit around and wait.
Waiting for what seems like an endless amount of time is not only wasteful, but it’s dangerous. As girls, we can come up with so many romantic notions. We can plan the man we want to marry. We can picture the way he asks us on our first date. We can even plan what type of character, facial expressions, and style he will have. (Come on, you know you do it!)
Instead of creating our own version of a dream guy, we should be open to the kind of guy God has in mind. We might miss out on God’s best for us because all we can think of is what we want, what we need, and what we have dreamed of all this time. Waiting around for love can lead to this kind of devastation. Time is not to be wasted during our single years.
While you’re single, you could be preparing for your life as a future wife. Start learning about how to take care of the bills, shopping, making appointments, cooking, cleaning, etc. Fill your life with things that take your eyes off yourself and your circumstances. Surround yourself with encouraging friends, wisdom from parents, and helpful books. Most importantly, develop a deep, meaningful relationship with God and His Word.
Instead of Pining for Mr. Awesome . . .
You can choose to pine over the day that you will meet Mr. Awesome, or you can allow God to use you for His glory starting today! Let go of your longings and desires, and let Him mold you and shape you into the woman you were destined to be from the very beginning.
Be busy—so busy with kingdom work that there’s no room for the thoughts of doubt, discontentment, and romanticized dreams that will ultimately hurt you and your future husband.
Single girls, let’s challenge each other to a higher standard of living by choosing joy instead of sorrow, contentment instead of discontentment, and surrender instead of free will. Don’t give up on doing good. True love doesn’t just wait. It waits well.
Written by Lisa Hallahan
