For The Woman Whose Waiting: Engagement
From the moment he got down on one knee I was ready to head to the altar, or even the courthouse for that matter. It didn’t take much for me to realize 2 things: This man is my future husband, and I am ready to get married. I knew exactly what I wanted, and I wanted it now. But sadly, my desires were so suddenly put to a halt once I heard the gentle whisper of my heavenly father say, “Wait”.
As I stared down at my shiny, new, beautiful ring, I pondered on that word, and I pleaded to God. I just could not understand. It feels like all I ever have to do is wait. “Why?” I asked the Lord, and although he would speak to me, I was too caught up in my own selfishness to listen.
As I sit here and type this just after being married only 2 weeks, I am already starting to understand what the Lord was saying. He wasn’t trying to be mean by asking us to wait, he was asking us to do something knowing that would be the best option for us. Looking back to that time, we could have easily disregarded the Lord’s requests, but that would have led to so much hardship. We always have the freedom to choose the path that we want, but when we listen to God it’s always a million times better than what we could ever comprehend, even if it may not seem like it at that moment. And 100% of the time, what God wants for you, is exactly what you need.
I knew what God wanted me to do: Get married. I also knew when: 10ish months after our engagement. For some reason the first one was so much easier to listen to! With that being said, we did wait exactly 10 months to say, “I Do”. Looking back, if we were to get married when I wanted to, there’s so many beautiful blessings we would have missed out on.
We would have had a completely unfinished home, or maybe none at all. We wouldn’t have been able to adopt our sweet little puppy Bleu who brings us so much joy. We wouldn’t have been able to afford our beautiful beach honeymoon. We wouldn’t have had time to dive deep into all of the places that needed healing from our pasts before we came together. There is so much more, but I think you get the point.
Try to remember God is a loving God. He’s not a God of rules and regulations to be mean and controlling. He’s a God of gentle guidance and love, and everything he asks of you, although it may seem difficult at times, will always be for your best interest.
For those who are currently engaged, I’m not going to give you the typical speech to enjoy it while you can because you’ll never get it back. While that is totally true, engagement a lot of times is so much harder than people make it out to be. Although it should be enjoyed, women should know it’s not always a nice, breezy walk in the park. Wedding planning is hard. Waiting to be with your husband is hard. Moving out of your house is hard. Working 40+ hours a week to just get by is hard. Paying for bills and a wedding at the same time is HARD. I just wish all of that was heard and seen more. However, despite reality, there is so much beauty in the waiting.
I know that if I wouldn’t have waited, the challenges of engagement would have multiplied. But because I did, my Father so gracefully guided me though the hard times with his loving hand. Now I sit here feeling blessed and without lack, because my heavenly Father always knows just what I need.
Isaiah 40:31, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” NKJV
Submitted by: Bailey Cartwright
