Love is Waiting

At twenty-one years of age, nearly twenty-two, I have never been in a real relationship. Sure, I've had those crushes and one time I had this pathetic attempt at a relationship, but it ended up a total mess and heartache. My whole entire life, even as a little girl I knew this wonderful thing called love was worth waiting for. My parents never hid their love from my siblings and me. Every time daddy would call during the day mom would answer with this sing-songy voice and Erin and I would look at each other as if to say, "ooh, its just dad." They have always been so cute together, but it wasn't until I was older that I realized not every married couple had that kind of obvious love. Anyway, I digress.

I firmly believe that from birth Jesus set deep within my heart a stubborn willingness and desire to wait for an amazing love story that only He is capable of orchestrating. In middle school and high school I watched my girlfriends casually enter and exit relationships. Each time their sweet hearts would get attached and then confused and then bruised. Yet I wondered each time if I was missing out on something. Why was I different? Why could I not happily have a boyfriend without considering it a serious and final endeavor?

Finally, I think I'm beginning to know why. The only man I have ever wanted to share romance with - the only man I have ever wanted to share myself with is my husband. Even young little me knew he was out there and one day I would belong to him! It has always thrilled me and given me a reason to guard my heart! Of course, I've experienced heartache a time or two when I allowed myself to develop feelings for guys who eventually proved to care less. However, I'm thankful for that because it protected me from truly falling for the wrong guy. Also, it reminded me to wait.

It's important for me to clarify something. Jesus didn't set deep within my heart, and my heart alone this stubborn willingness and desire to wait for a love story that He has planned. No. I believe that this is something He does in all of us. Most people don't recognize it, ignore it, and do things their own way. Because of my parent's, grandparent's, and a number of other people's constant prayers for me, and because of my parent's example to me I was fortunate enough to have that God-given desire cultivated and protected from a young age.

So why am I writing all of this? Simply to say, this is why I don't date. This is why I don't give in to fleeting emotions. This is why my standards for love are so high. Jesus is in control of it all. He has my heart, my past, my present, my future, and my husband. It is Christ who is writing my love story and even if I had the choice to choose my leading man, I'd give that choice right back to Jesus because I don't trust myself to choose such an important role.* Somewhere my guy is out there, waiting for me and pouring his life out for the Lover of both of our souls! When the Lord decides it is time, He will lead us together. He needs no assistance from us. As long as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be added unto us in due time.

Here are some lyrics by Brooke Fraser that express all of this. Have a blessed day!

"Love Is Waiting"
Verse 1
In the autumn on the ground,
between the traffic and the ordinary sounds
I am thinking signs and seasons while a north wind blows through
I watch as lovers pass me by
Walking stories - whos and hows and whys
Musing lazily on love
Pondering you
I'll give it time, give it space and be still for a spell
When it's time to walk that way we want to walk it well
[CHORUS:]
I'll be waiting for you baby
I'll be holding back the darkest night
Love is waiting til we're ready, til it's right
Love is waiting
Verse 2
It's my caution not the cold
there's no other hand that I would rather hold
the climate changes, I'm singing for the strangers about you
don't keep time, slow the pace
Honey hold on if you can
the bets are getting surer now that you're my man
[CHORUS]
[BRIDGE:]
I could write a million songs about the way you say my name
I could live a lifetime with you and then do it all again
and like I can't force the sun to rise or hasten summer's start,
neither should I rush my way into your heart
[CHORUS]

* Eric and Leslie Ludy's book "When God Writes Your Love Story" has had a real influence on me. I want to give credit to them for the concept of a God written love story. Eric said something in one of his books about allowing God to choose his spouse. So, credit to him for teaching me to think that way.


Sanctified and Surrendered by Caitlin Marie Stacy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.