To Those Who Are Waiting (and to those who are not), Part II

Happy Monday :)

I wanted to piggy back off of the post I did last, For Those Who Wait and speak directly to those who are waiting, but also to those who are not. This post is toward the believers and followers of Jesus Christ, but those who question or those who do not believe, or even those of different beliefs, please feel free to read and comment :)

I applaud you. I applaud every single "single" person awaiting on God, allowing for Him to write your love story, allowing Him to guide you on the path that will lead to the fulfilling of your calling, and allowing Him to be your one true love. Being content in Him and Him alone is so key and I applaud every person that has realized that, embraced it, and lives it.

It is not easy. It is not easy waiting and I know. And, it's not easy living in a world where this idea of "waiting" or "courtship" is frowned upon, laughed at, and mocked. It's not easy living in a society where "dating" is what "normal" people do and waiting is abnormal. Whatever you call it, waiting does not seem like the ideal thing to do. In fact, here is some advice I received from someone close to me a long time ago, they told me to not just settle for one dress, but to try on many different dresses and wear them around. Then in the end, go back to the one I liked the most and choose that. Bad advice for sure...

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.


For those not wanting to wait or challenging what I say, here are some quotes from a very wise author who wrote a very great book--I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris

I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris

First--here are Mr. Harris's 7 Habits of Highly Defective Dating that I have found to be oh-so-true:

1. Dating tends to skip the friendship stage of a relationship
2. Dating often mistakes a physical relationship as love
3. Dating often isolates a couple from other vital relationships
4. Dating can distract young adults from their primary responsibility of preparing for the future
5. Dating can cause discontentment with God’s gift of singleness
6, Dating can create an artificial environment for evaluating another person’s character
7. Dating often becomes an end in itself


But you may rebuttal these with, "Then how will I build a friendship with he/she, romance them, and how do we get to marriage then if we don't date?" Well...


"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


But, "I just feel like courtship or waiting isn't for me, I feel like I need to date". Well...


"By nature, our instincts want to set us on a course for destruction. Our
feelings can lie to us. We shouldn’t allow them to set the tone or the pace of
our relationships. Instead, we need to let God’s Word and patience and
selflessness to guide us." - Joshua Harris


Mr. Harris is right.

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.


It's not impossible to wait, it is just hard. But again, so very worth it. After all, I can't even imagine how hard it was for Christ to carry and die on that cross for us. I dare even say that as believers, if we are not willing to wait, then we are saying that God is not in control, that we are not willing to wait on him, and that we don't trust Him.

I am reading, studying, and speaking out on this topic so much lately because of a few things. One including that I will be the speaker at my sister's Quinceanera this month. I am such a proud big sister because my little sis has chosen the path of purity, of waiting, and trusting in God. She wants me to speak on purity and the fulfillment we get through waiting. I am honored and blessed to be able to speak. What an opportunity I have to speak to 15 and 16 year olds--to have them all in one room and hopefully, catch their ear and for God, to capture their hearts.

Renique and I at Rock the Desert in Midland, Texas :) Like big sister, like little sister!

Also, I am mentoring a beautiful young woman, Miranda whom I just baptized yesterday (June 5th). She and I will be going through Rebecca St. James's book, Pure and I am quite excited.

Pure by Rebecca St. James

It is blessing me beyond measure to see young people choose waiting and patience. Discipleship is key in seeing that a reality with this generation, so ladies and gents, fellow believers, I encourage you to mentor or disciple a youth, pointing them down the path of purity. What a difference it makes.

Miranda and I at one of our favorite spots, Starbucks :)

Just baptized! June 5, 2011. Holding her certificate :)

Again, for those who are waiting, I applaud you and want to encourage to keep going. He has got you in the palm of His hand. He loves you. You are His beloved. It is a daily struggle, it is hard. It includes mockery, questions, standing in the face of adversity, but it is very worth it.

"But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

For those who choose to continue in the "dating game" and don't want to wait, but rather try on dress after dress or suit after suit, may I be so bold as to say, good luck. I encourage you to prayerfully consider waiting and please, feel free to contact me. I would love to talk to you more about it. I say all of this out of love and hoping that each person would not have to experience the heartbreak and pains that I chose to go through during my youth. I didn't realize how important waiting was until after some mistakes and ugly times. Rest assured, God can turn any mistake into a miracle. You just have to let Him.

You may ask, what does waiting look like? What fruit comes out of it? Who do I draw close to in waiting? and any other questions, well stay tuned. I may have a part III to this subject :)

Seek and pray for patience. Enjoy this lovely song by Seabird

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,




Erica