Sometimes you just needtobreathe...

Check out needtobreathe's new video for "Something Beautiful". The song just makes me feel happy. The video is stellar. Give it a go!

-M

Grocery Lists

I have, as I'm sure everyone does, certain characteristics or things that I look for in guys. Some of them are pretty extreme, even irrational. But I wonder if this is just me being materialistic/vain/difficult or if I want these things for a reason. I know that whoever God has created for me will be attractive to me in every way. However, I cannot help but wonder if I will be disappointed, even just a little. There are certain things that I want because they will match my personality or my way of life. But what if I'm not supposed to want these things. What if I have asked too much of this person I don't even know? That's certainly not fair. What bothers me more is that in all of my internal debating, I am left with the feeling that I lack faith in Him, in God. He knows my every thought, my every desire.

I talked with a dear friend over coffee recently (how very college-y of us) about this whole "grocery list" issue. It's almost like I've made a mental checklist. I was comforted by the fact that she had too. On a side note, I hope that everyone has a friend like mine. I can talk to her about anything knowing that she will never judge me. If you don't have a friend in whom you can confide, find one. She has saved my sanity and encouraged me in my walk with Christ more times than I can tell you. Back to the task at hand...

I find myself meeting guys an writing them off if they don't meet these qualifications. I'm beginning to wonder if it is wrong to have this list. What if I've missed my husband somewhere in the middle? Just because he didn't play guitar or stand a dazzling 6 feet 2 inches tall (picky, I know)? I wonder who put these desires in my heart. Was it me or was it God? The Bible promises that He will give us the desires of our heart. He lives in us and creates these desires in us so that we might follow the path that he has set out for us so that we might grow closer to Him.

It was over coffee and a long conversation that I began to realize that I wouldn't want these things unless God wanted me to want them. (Did you follow that? hahaha) It is true He will give us the desires of our hearts because HE put them there. He is the one that has filled our hearts and our minds and our souls with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 says the He knows the plans He has for us. He will prosper us and not harm us, give us hope and a future. I am coming to believe that these nit-picky things that I so desire in my Beloved are there for a reason. It is these things that will tell me when I have found him. Then my lovely friend shared a story with me about one of her close family friends. This woman prayed for weeks and developed a list of qualities for her husband. She prayed and prayed over this list. God told her that she should not marry a man who did not meet each and every point on the list. One day, she met him. He met all of her criteria, God's criteria. She made this list by listening to the Almighty, by waiting for a certain quirk or quality to be placed on her heart so that she might add it to the list. You can imagine how the story ended.

This story gave me hope. God always gives us what we need. In that conversation with my friend, I needed encouragement. I needed to know that I wasn't crazy, that I wasn't just some silly girl dreaming about something she would never have. God is writing my love story. I am learning to trust Him with it more and more each day as I pray for my Husband and my future with him. Besides, who knows more about love than God?

-M

Introductions can be awkward...

I am just a girl. I'm quite ordinary. I go to school and have normal hopes for my life. I'm not quite sure what prompted me to start blogging about my life, my journey. But I do know that God has made me a promise. One day - I have no idea when - my future husband will pop into my life and fit there as if he were always there. However, for now, I am a single college student...quite ordinary...

But what about the in between? That's a fine question. I've prayed for my other half (without knowing anything about him, mind you) for about 2 and a 1/2 years now. Still my love life is as dry as Atlanta in mid-July. I sometimes find myself wondering out loud if I'm destined to live with 40 cats in an old house that's entirely too big for the old spinster who lives there. These are the times when God reminds me that He keeps His promises and I take comfort in that. I don't know when or how or where this mystery man will pop up. But this blog is the story of the journey.

I know that I can't be the only girl in the world who hopes for the husband God has promised her. This blog is meant to give encouragement to any girl (or guy) who is waiting patiently for their Love to waltz into their lives via a promise from El Shaddai, the Great I AM, the Living God. As I am a college student with a busy fall semester staring me in the face, this will most likely be inconsistent. But if you are following, thank you. I hope that you can relate to my journey.

I can't know for sure what this blog will be. However, I can tell you that it won't be a pity party. I don't need a significant other to make my life complete. I have Christ in my heart and an ever-growing relationship with God which is all I need in this world to keep breathing. Most recently, I began to feel like God wants me to be content with my life as it is. I need to be satisfied with what He has given me here and now. I feel that I'm getting there. This should probably be the part where I tell you that I am the most impatient person you'll ever meet. I struggle with patience - which is, consequently, what we focused on in Sunday School this week (A wise person once told me that God gives us what we need and it stuck with me). I have an issue with deciding that I want thing and then wanting them instantly. If I order my usual skinny vanilla latte, tall at Starbucks, I need it right then. It should be ready by the time I reach the little counter where they call out your name. This life is a whole other level of impatient. If I'm cruising up I-65 and I have to turn off my cruise control because someone is going to slow in front of me, I immediately begin to yell at the person because they can obviously hear me. Patience is not my forte.

So here we are. I am so glad you've stumbled into my world. Let us embark together on this journey. I hope you can find my words something of value. Perhaps, you'll take comfort in the fact that you aren't alone. I am waiting for my Beloved as well.