Monday, February 22, 2010

Dating God

I love it when I find little things that encourage me. I was going through an old notebook of sermon notes and letters and whatever else I collected in that notebook, and I found a little card from Linnette.

"One of my prayers for you Carrie is that you will wait on God's guy. You have been through so much with your parents divorce. You don't want that for your life or children. So the question then is will you wait for God's timing and not your own? Don't take a temporary problem and make a permanent solution. Just because you are lonely or long to be with someone don't settle. Carrie, you are such a loving, kind, gorgeous young lady. Don't sell yourself short. You may have to wait awhile to get your prince charming but it will be well worth the wait. In the mean time make sure you are dating God. Know His voice, search for His character. He will never let you down.
Psm 139, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Zeph. 3:17, Phil. 2:21.
Keep your eyes on Him. I can't wait to see what God's going to do through you these next four years."

I remember I got that card and I read it and I was very appreciative for what she said, but my issue was that I was settling, and I kept denying it. This was during my senior year, and I was with a guy and I really thought we were going to get married. I just remember thinking that I was already with "God's guy" and it was weird how she would write that. Looking back, I should have known better than to be with him, but that's the past. What can ya do? I know better now, and that's what mostly counts, right?

Anyway, I just found this and reread it and I am just so encouraged right now. I want to wait on God's timing. I don't want to jump into anything without dating God first. For the past couple weeks I've been working on "dating God." This was a concept I knew about before and I didn't really think it was a big deal. I mean, I loved God, so why would I have to ditch dating to date God? What more could I do than what I was already doing with God? I already had quiet times, I prayed, I read my bible, so what does it mean to date God? It never really made sense to me. Yeah, I heard cool stories about how a woman dates God and goes on walks with God or has a picnic with God and does things that she would like to do on a date, but with God, and then she meets a man who enjoys doing the same things that she did while she dated God. Those are always beautiful and heart-warming stories, but I just never could see it happening that way with me. I wanted to find the right guy without taking the time to date God. I should have known that I will never find the right guy until I seek God first. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and slap my high school self around a little bit, but I can't, so I have to learn to deal with my mistakes.

Sorry I keep ranting off subject. So, I am dating God. I thought about it a couple weeks ago, and I really do want to grow more with God and get to know God's character and His voice personally, even more than I do now. I want to fall in love with my creator. I can't imagine loving God more than I do now, but I know it's possible and I am super excited for what will happen because of this. It started when a group of us went ice skating in Michigan the other weekend. I remember skating around the rink seeing couples and just getting annoyed at the fact that there were so many couples. (I'm not bitter, I promise) Even though I was having fun with the few of us who went, I found the time to turn that situation into a date with God. My bitterness completely changed into seeking after God. I went around the rink a few times just talking in my head with God, and that was absolutely amazing. It wasn't like I heard God say anything. It was more along the lines of acknowledging His presence and knowing that He wants to spend time with me, that He is jealous for my love. So instead of being bitter about all of the couples, I was able to just fall more in love with God and take pride in God's love for me.

So, I am trying really hard to not be paranoid about "the right guy" and to not worry about whether I should try talking to someone or not. There's no use in getting nervous because I know God has a guy for me out there somewhere, and until we meet, I will wait patiently upon the Lord. For now, I am dating God, praying for my future husband, seeking God's character and voice, and I pray that whoever my future husband is will also have to seek God first before he finds me, and have the guts to come to me first so I don't have to worry about being nervous, ha. just sayin.



P.S. Coffee dates are the best! :)

2 comments:

  1. Dating God! That is an awesome idea :)
    You know when I first heard of people marrying God? In middle school when I attended a summer camp with religious sisters/nuns. I discovered that they never married or had sex because they are married to God. They wear a wedding ring and their habit and veil looks like that because it is meant to resemble a wedding gown. I thought it was pretty neat and remembered that when you mentioned "dating God". It seems the idea has been around since early Christianity! I hope you don't mind the different perspective :)... Take Care




    P.S.By the way I have been enjoying your blog in the past couple of weeks- haha I hope that's not "stalkerish")

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  2. Oh wow, that is interesting to think about! I can understand where they're coming from, but I don't think I would ever go that far haha
    I think God intends for us to marry, but I do think it's wise to continue seeking (or dating) God until God's timing.

    And it isn't stalkerish at all! That's what this blog is for, for others to read and hopefully get something out of it. :) And I'm glad you're enjoying it!

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