Longing for "THE ONE"

I have to admit, I long to be with someone. Someone who loves God; who loves me in view of my insufficiencies; who will serve with me in youth ministry and wherever God calls us; who will love my family, no matter how crazy they might be.

As one of my former posts said, I'm reading the book called Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. This last chapter was called "Romance: Meeting Girls is Easy." And while that is true, meeting girls is easy, I have a hard time trying to connect with people of the opposite sex.

Something I am very passionate about and really want to happen in my future is to be a husband and a father. I can't wait to play catch with my son in the front yard, give my little girl her first dress, drop my child off at their first day of school, or go to my son's graduation. Those are things I can't wait for. In my family life and ministry class my professor started tearing up when talking about growing with his spouse and being able to see Jesus in her. I can't wait for that either. Yet, I don't even have a girlfriend. Is there something wrong with me? No.

I am in that period of life where a lot of what I think about is relationships. Who do I like? Why do I like her? What does she think of me? How can I spend some quality time with her? What are my motivations for being in a relationship? How do I make God the foundation of a relationship with a girl? How do I keep God at the center of that relationship? Am I honoring God through my relationships to females? Am I in the right place with God to start dating? Do I seek to be fulfilled by a woman more than I do God? Which one do I seek first? Soo many more questions run through my head.

So often I think about such things and they consume my worries, the worrying brings me pain.

Yesterday I was reading some verses in Romans 5. Verses 1-5 say, "Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Also through Him, we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, be we alse rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope does not disappoint, because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

It is so great that God gives us grace and peace through Jesus Christ and that we get to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. But then it gets confusing. Rejoice in our affliction? You see, God wants us to rejoice in Him when we face our afflictions because it makes us grow in Him. When we endure through our suffering, we grow in our character, and that character produces the hope that God has poured out in love on us through the Holy Spirit... which does not disappoint! How great is that?!

Lord,
In these times of wondering who you will bring me to, to be in love with for the rest of my life, I rejoice in you and your faithfulness. I rejoice in the hope that you have given me in Christ. Lord, I long to be with her, and I long to be with you, but help me to seek first your Kingdom and righteousness above all things. Lord thank you for your grace and your peace in this time of worry and wonder. Thank you sooooo much God!
In the name of Jesus Christ I pray,
Amen.