Wait for the One

Wait for "the one".

As women, we've grown up hearing those famous words, to some, it was like a beacon of hope, one that gave us endless daydreams, inspirational pinterest boards, anticipating the day when we get to try on rings to see what shape & color will look the best on our finger. To others, it was cringe-worthy, especially for those who have been waiting a long time, and it seems like they're quickly becoming the "old maid" of the fresh deck of cards. Watching as all those around you are seemingly on the road you've been waiting to get on. Maybe you started as the girl in the world of daydreams, white dresses, and a kiss to seal the deal, and now you find yourself thinking that it doesn't look so bad becoming a nun and call it a day. All joking aside, I completely understand, because I was both. But I am here to tell you that as annoying, or tiresome it is to hear the phrase, "wait for the one", I can with full confidence tell you to do exactly that.

Let me bring you into the world of Ariana for a moment. *cue the music* I was and still am the daydreamer, but I was that little girl. Endlessly daydreaming of what her wedding day would look like. The wild imagination of a homeschooled girl was without limits; planning how old I would be when I got married, how old I would be when we would be parents, and so on. Romance was the world I lived in, that and musicals (I still don't know why my life isn't a musical!) I imagined myself in a beautiful white dress that was handpicked just for me, flowers, music that spoke exactly what my heart was feeling, and the MOST handsome man waiting at the end of the aisle for me. Fast forward to my 20's, I heard the bells, lots of wedding bells, but none that were mine. The endless joys of my friends and family were watched from a seat, or as a bridesmaid/maid of honor, rejoicing with them as they were living out their own dream. Remember that plan I had, yea me too...and it seemed like it kept being pushed further and further out until it became difficult to find that giddiness of the little girl. I soon found myself crying late into the night, frustrated and internally scoffing at the young couples and their lovely dovey whispers of sweet nothings to each other. Ugh and here came my 30s, and let me tell you I soon felt as if I were that old maid in the deck of cards. Calculating and recalculating what it was that I could've done wrong to have been put into what seemed like an endless eternity of waiting. I GIVE UP! I am SO tired of WAITING! I finally decided that at 32 I was done with searching, done with striving, done with trying all those stupid dating apps. I was just done. It felt like I was in this cycle of duds, men saying they were this way when they were really that way. They weren't living up to who they made themselves up to be, and it was exhausting. I sat in my hammock chair one night and I remember telling the Lord I was so over it, and I was moving away from the driver's seat and sliding into the passenger seat to let Him do what He wanted to do all along. I gave up, but I gave up in the best way possible because it left ample room for the Lord to bring in the one I had been waiting for without even realizing it! Why?, because I started to walk out Psalm 37:3-5, "Keep trusting in the Lord and do what is right in His eyes. Fix your heart on the promises of God, and you will dwell in the land, feasting on His faithfulness. Find your delight and true pleasures in Yahweh, and He will give you what you desire the most. Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust Him along the way, you'll find He pulled it off perfectly!"

And you know what, He did just that! About four months after I "gave up" and Jesus took the wheel, in walks destiny. Now let me say this, it doesn't always happen like this, and it may not happen as quickly, it's ALL on the Lord's time, not ours. So. don't be discouraged by the timing of things, trust Him. Little did I know that a stranger walking into where I worked was the answer to my late-night prayers, little did I know that about a year later we would be engaged, and then a little over six months after that would I become his wife. Little did I know, but boy oh boy did God know! So my friend, wait for the one. Wait for the one that won't compromise and devalue you, wait for the one that will bring value to your life. Wait for the one that won't say he will just pray for you, wait for the one that will pray for and WITH you. Wait for the one that will honor you, and live to honor the One who gave you to him. Wait for the one that will fight for you, that will stand by you, that will challenge you in the best way possible. The one who will call out the gold that he sees in you, and also the crap because that's important too. Wait for the one that the Lord predestined for you from the moment you took your first breath. Wait for the man who chases after the heart of our Heavenly Father, because he will be a man that will undoubtedly be worth it. Wait for the one.