Almost everyone knows that my 30th birthday is quickly approaching and like most people, I'm measuring my accomplishments and finding myself short of my original goals. Pretty standard, I think, "By the time I'm 30, I'll be married with at least 1 child, a homeowner, and have my Masters Degree". Funny, how I just named all of the things I don't have, but I'm blessed with so many other things that I'm okay... Except the one thing that's bugging me is this whole wife/mother thing. Probably because 90% of my BFFs are married mothers. Another 7% are engaged. So, the phrase, always a bridesmaid... Yeah, you know the rest.
But here's the real kicker, me being single and childless isn't just your standard "I'm waiting for Mr. Right..." No, its so much more than that.
I'm a virgin. (Wow, that was kinda hard to type!) And I'm waiting for marriage. And before you start thinking "Awww, how sweet", know that its anything but. Know that my virgin status does not equal my innocence, at all! I just made a promise and stuck with it... Whenever I'm in a relationship, and things start getting hot and heavy, I always joke that I'm a VIP (Virgin in Peril). Trust me when I tell you, I've been awfully close SEVERAL TIMES (playing with fire) and its only by God's grace that its still intact. The situations I've been in could have easily led to non consensual sex but thanks be to God for God-fearing men who heeded His warnings.
My decision to wait for marriage was not an immediate one. If someone would have told me in middle school, that I would eventually wait for marriage, even to age 30, I would have never believed it. In middle school, being a virgin was more lack of opportunity then anything else. In high school, though, after I gave my life to Christ, it was the expected behavior of a Christian and in college, the fear that I would end up pregnant, just because that's how I expected God to work in my hard-headed life. Afterward, in post-college adulthood, it became my personal quest to break the cycle of unwed mothers in my familial line and I refused to have sex without being married for fear that I would break my promise. Nowadays, its wavering resolve. I say, wavering, because I NEVER imagined I would be a 30-year-old virgin and of course the childish part of me wants to challenge God (God, if I'm not engaged by 11:30pm EST on 3-26-10, I'm sleeping with the first man I run into...) But that never lasts long cause I know it wouldn't be worth it. I mean, why risk the blessing that I KNOW God has in store for me for being obedient? So, still I wait....and wait...and wait. And of course, God will never put more on you than you can bear, so I'm back to lack of opportunity. God knows how vulnerable I am right now. I'd be liable to lay down with anybody out of desparity!
Anyway, I'm also trying to come to terms that it may not even be in His Will for me to marry and/or have children, something I hate to admit I even worry about. But I do! What if God's given me this desire to marry a man I can love and support and nurture and be fully loved by in return, but instead I'm to use that love in service to Him? What if I'm surrounded by all these children (godkids, work, church) because I'll never have my own? And especially with the feeling that we're in the last days... I don't know. God loves me and knows the plans He has for me and wouldn't give me such strong desire if He never intended for me to have it... Or is that desire/temptation my cross to bear?
At this point, I have no idea, but in the meantime, I continue to thank God for keeping me because my lifestyle is always peaceful and safe. No pregnancy or STD scares. No worries about taking care of a child's expenses when I barely manage to cover my own. No baby daddy drama or forsaken love ties to men who weren't meant to be in my life in the first place! For all of that, I'm thankful.
So now, I need to flip VIP to Virgin in Prayer because that's what's going to bring me through! I continue to pray that there's a husband for me. But if not, God knows what's best for me and I pray for the ability to trust Him and that I'll find joy in His will for my life, come what may.
Whew! This was hard to write, but I guess I felt compelled because somebody out there is struggling with abstinence too. Maybe you're one of the few virgins out there who are thinking about giving in. Maybe you're just single and trying to remain celibate until you're married. I have no idea, but "I, therefore, urge you" to keep your promise. Whoever/Whatever God has in store for you in the future, is worth the wait. And if you're struggling with this and in a relationship now, God be with you and your boo, that you both can remain chaste and obedient!
I'm a living testimony, trying to remain in God's favor, despite what a hot mess I am!
Pray for me y'all! You already know I'm praying for you.
In His Service (Obediently),
Maryn
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
No comments:
Post a Comment