So, here we are broken hearted from boy and holy
spirit dwelling richer. Truth sits in front of me and I can’t blink enough to
miss it, though those most close to me could tell you that I tried…I really
tried.
Like most times, I am a slow learner and like to
trudge through the thick of it when the straight and narrow is well within
sight. It just doesn’t seem to stop me from paving my own way, from chasing
control to death—literally it seems at times.
In God’s grace it only took me two or three months
after sending him home on the plane to realize that he was not mine. It took
him longer and his promises to wait forever for me left me always hanging on,
clinging to something I knew wasn’t mine. But I hung onto the idea of him and
me, the feelings, the moments, the future—I clung to it like a monkey to a
tree.
And let me tell you, it took that darn tree falling
flat to the ground before I unlatched. But when I did, Jesus was there among
those broken branches and leaves turned brown and He held me. Gentle and
patient as ever.
A week later this man who waited for me to throw my
hair down, he texted to tell me he was in a relationship. FYI—it wasn’t with
me. A little broken and a little relieved, I kept trudging through my jungle.
A few months later, nearly one year after I sent
him home on that plane, he proposed. FYI—the ring wasn’t for me.
Not gunna lie—I cried. Yes right there on the couch
by myself, I wept like a baby as the blizzard outside poked at my heart a bit. And eventually one friend just laughed at my
foolishness and the tears faded into giggles and thanksgiving. Yes, I was
actually thankful that it wasn’t me—deep, deep down I was thankful I obeyed,
even when I felt my world turn. I was thankful, I kept saying it and soon my
heart believed too.
Then the holy spirit began to convict again. He
showed me this picture. This picture of me and him together that morning, his
arms holding me tight.
I looked at it and I wept for an hour. This time,
it wasn’t because I missed him. Rather, because I stole
from him, I stole from his wife to be and I handed him over things that weren’t
his to have either.
Here’s the thing—our lips never touched that year.
Our hands collided only several times. We were rarely alone and we sought wisdom
from our elders. He asked my dad if he could date me months before I even knew
he was going to pursue me. We were pure, we did it right—so I was convinced, we
were doing it right.
It wasn’t until I found this picture and I saw him
holding me and I heard him singing to me and remembered our long drives and
endless conversations about family and Jesus and our future together that I
realized I was a thief in the night.
Last month, the boy married his bride and their
wedding was beautiful. Once in a while, the tears still fall as I see her holding his hand
because I remember all that I have, all that I just wish I could give back. So much I wish I could give to her, so much I wish I had never taken.
I hate that I stole
those moments from her.
I hate that I didn't see it—that as a sister in Christ,
I took those moments from him, my brother, moments that belong to his wife—now
forever mine.
So sisters, how do we reconcile this? How do I know
all of this and yet still enter into another dating relationship?
Real quick, let's clarify some definitions:
--Dating: finding the right person for me, intimacy before commitment, pretend like you're married to see if it will work, just enjoying each other and waiting to see what happens, no time constraint.
--Biblical Courtship: being the right person to serve your spouse in glorifying Christ in your role as man or woman, commitment before intimacy, commit your way to the Lord and marriage will work, intentional time to decide if marriage is in the future or not, either you're it or you're not.
1.) Let us be in the world but not of it.
What does dating
look like when filtered through verses such as these?
- For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. -Mark 8:38
- Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. -James 1:27
- But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. -1 Peter 2:9
- Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. -Rom. 12:1-2
- We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. -Rom. 15:1-2
- For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant[a] of Christ. -Gal. 1:10
When we, as women in the love with Jesus, walk
around holding hands with our man, how are we not in some respect reaching even
deeper into our culture with each grasp we take? We say we want to be a light,
to be a generation that rises up, to walk in our newness. So how do we date no
differently from the world but not think twice? Okay, so maybe we don't kiss
until our wedding day or have a short engagement or cherish our virginity.
These are honorable pursuits, ones that very much
impact, so I ask—is it enough?
What exactly is
in our heart?
- He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean. For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' " –Mark 7:20-22
Is the heart
always bad?
- Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. –Genesis 6:5
- The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? –Jer. 17:9
How do we guard
our heart?
- Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. Prov. 4:23-27
- Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day. –Prov. 23:17
- Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. –Ps. 62:8
- But I have trusted in Your mercy; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. –Ps. 13:5
Why is does it
matter?
- You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. –James 5:8
What is the result of guarding our heart and abstaining from the world?
3.) We really can’t miss it—we can’t screw it
up.
- Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. –Matt. 5:8
Okay, so maybe we get the physical part of dating
down. Maybe the being together but not really being together the way we were
created to is silenced for a bit so that we can just date. What about the heart
of it all? Ladies, we all know it is deceitfully wicked—add that to our
emotions, our biological clock ticking a little quicker, our Facebook feed
plastered with new relationship statuses and big ole' rings, and our Pinterest-planned
wedding and then what? Can we truly guard our hearts adequately inside of a
dating relationship in the culture we live in? I thought so.
See, a battle in ever dating again for me is this—because
we are just dating with no indication of anything more intentional, essentially
that could be YOUR husband holding my hand.
And in this situation, this
boy who I sent home on the plane, he thought I was his. I thought he was mine.
Sisters, how do we reconcile this? Even in a
friendship, how do we devote hours to primping and prodding our hair up to the
ceiling and cover our faces with color because we know our "friend"
is going to be there tonight, but tell our roommate we really are guarding our
heart—it's a group party and we are just friends. Really?
By design, I don't believe we were created to be in
close friendship with guys. Think about it—do you ever see a girl in scripture
just be friends with a guy where it doesn't lead to sin?
If I don’t date, I will never meet my
husband.
- But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matt. 6:33
- Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. –Ps. 139:16
- I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. –Ps. 32:8
People will think I’m crazy.
- Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. -1 Tim. 4:12
- For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. -1 John 2:16
- “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
- Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)
- Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
- And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. –Mark 12:33
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