I'll repeat a few reminders I was given by my awesome friends: Don't rush it. God's writing your love story and his timing is perfect. Be patient. God has the perfect partner picked out. I know my parents are very pro courting as they realized they made many mistakes younger in the typical dating scene.
A few months ago I was simply following along, not truly understanding the whys of their reasoning. I was then recommended by Elizabeth and Sarah the book "I kissed Dating Goodbye." It answered all my questions on why my parents don't want me dating and getting too close to a girl till I'm truly ready! It now makes all the sense in the world. So as Shane said in his girl/relationship post,
"Live for God, "treat younger women as sisters, with absolute purity," (1 Tim.V'essa, my totally awesome big sis, also told me a pretty cool analogy on relationships.
5:2), and eventually in God's timing He will bring the right woman into your
life."
They are like a triangle. As each future partner grows up their sides of the triangle closer to God, they grow closer together. Cool thought isn't it? We also talked briefly on jealousy.
Something I didn't think of then I'll say now for the sake of those who where there. Whenever you feel jealousy, remember, this is what God feels and more when we don't put him first in our lives!
Scary thought isn't it? Just a little reminder and something to think about.Deu 4:24 "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."
Exd 20:5a "You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,"
For those who are single, fall into the "16 and never kissed" (or in my case, 18 and never kissed), the never dated or stopped dating, pro courting group, I realize it's a hard road, reflecting in many ways are difficult walk with Christ. I for one am teased a lot on my views on relationships. It's a hard road but with prayer, and perseverance, it can be done. What they think doesn't matter; only what God thinks does. Let us stand strong for the gospel!
I am by no means an expert in this area (one of many reasons I'm not getting into a relationship right now...). There is much that I need to learn yet so if you see an error, let me know please! Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on this blog.
God Bless!
Your bro in Christ,
Corey <><
P.S And for those who don't know, I am leaving for my college this Wednesday so of course we talked about that a lot. God has blessed me with so many encouraging friends and their parents, promising to pray for me and even send care packages! I'm looking forward to it yet know I will miss my family and friends a lot. I know though, God will continue to mature me into the man he wants me to be at college. I just need to continue to read his Word and follow his foot prints as a boy follows his Dad's through deep snow.
2 comments:
Hey Little Bro!
Wow! You've got such an awesome point there on the jealousy issue. It really made me think. When we put our human relationships ahead of our relationship with our Saviour, we're sinking back down that triangle again, and a relationship not blessed by God Almighty cannot and will not work.
I loved what you said, "I just need to continue to read his Word and follow his foot prints as a boy follows his Dad's through deep snow." A beautiful metaphor. And when we miss a step and fall head-first into the snow, He's always there to pick us right back up again and help us get back on track. All we have to do is accept his outstretched hand and start following in His footprints once again.
Love ya, Little Bro, and I'll be praying for you at Kettering. Have fun! This is a whole new leg of your life's journey. "Dive in" as Steven Curtis Chapman would say.
Your Big Sister in Jesus Forever,
V'essa ;) <><
Nice post..."I Kissed Dating Goodbye" is a great book. The one place though I think that many people get way too caught up in is in legalities. I don't think people should follow something like a 10-step plan for courtship or something like that (relationships cannot follow a plan--friendships would be awful if that happened!). And I don't think it matters whether the term for the relationship is dating vs. courting, except for the extreme ends of both. I believe that many people can "court" in the wrong way, using it like the "typical" dating scene. And people can "date" in the right way too--dating someone who they have become very good friends with and who they believe they could marry, after much prayer and after feeling God say "go ahead," for the purpose of finding out if they are the one God has in mind for you. Because when you go away to college, it becomes very hard to do the typical courtship under each other's parents' roof. But parents should still be involved, no matter what...I can't imagine going through my relationship with Jordan without them. Am I dating him or courting him? We've usually said dating, but it's definitely not in the worldy sense--we get frustrated when people say "he's just your first boyfriend" or "wow--how can you make it through college together being 1000 miles apart?" Our relationship began with both our parents' permission, with us being best friends, with tons of prayer, with God's permission, and with us feeling that it could lead to marriage. That looks like "courting." But we go on single dates, we have fun and don't just volunteer or work, we've even gone to prom (and I can tell you--school dancing is awful--we stood out in that we didn't dance like the rest). And every single moment of the relationship has been focused on God, and we firmly believe that God created us for each other. So whether it's "courting" or "dating," it doesn't matter. What matters is that 1. God gives his permission 2. there are boundaries, 3. parents give permission, and 4. you're doing it for the right reasons, not to have fun. And about the rest--if you want to go on regular dates, great! (you do need to spend time alone--you don't want to spill your darkest secrets in front of the other's parents) If you want to work together at each other's house, great! But don't do only one or the other...it limits the perspective on the other person.
Wow...that was completely long...I'm sorry. I think I'm writing that for my benefit too because I've been on both sides of the dating/courting thing and I wanted to clarify for myself my feelings....lol
Have fun at college!
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