Growing up, my mom was big on praying about our future marriage/spouse. It became something that I did as well...praying that God would send my true love at the right time and help me wait for him and guard my heart. Sometimes I prayed this passionately, sometimes routinely. But always, always it was in my heart that God knew my future spouse and I needed to wait for him and be patient...to not throw away my heart to any and every guy that came through my life.
My college boyfriend was my first serious boyfriend. We dated all four years of college and the year after. We had never really talked about getting married, which surely should have been a sign to me that something was not right. How clear hind sight is, right?
Then we broke up. And I was 24. And I had friends getting married right and left. I wondered if maybe I would never find "the one." It seemed like the next logical step (in the eyes of society) after graduating college was marriage...and yet there I was a year after graduation and single. I resumed my earnest prayers for my future spouse. I prayed that God would save my heart until I met my future husband...I prayed that God would teach me patience...and I prayed to focus fully on God until I felt that He was giving me my future husband. I knew God would teach me and work on me as He was leading me to my future spouse.
I wanted the next man I gave my heart to to be my husband.
And then I met my (now) husband...and I wasn't really prepared for love...and I wasn't really prepared for falling so fast...but we did. We were married within a year of dating and I knew that this love was what I had been waiting for.
And I know that people say "I don't regret my past relationships because I grew/learned/changed." And I agree with that to some degree. But every relationship we are in, we give little pieces of our heart away. And then maybe when the right person comes along, we don't have a whole heart to give anymore. We have jealousies, insecurities and fears that hang around and interfere with our ability to love and trust the next person.
If you are still waiting for your spouse, I encourage you to seek God and pray about it...pray to guard your heart and wait for the right person for you. You can't find Mr. Right (or Mrs) if you are dating every Mr. Wrong that walks past you! Trust God to know the perfect timing for your love story and your life.
Deep post for a Friday. : )
Love, love!
73 comments:
This is a great post. I never really thought about what you said, with every past relationship we give a piece of our heart away and then when we meet the one, we dont have a whole heart to give. This is a great piece of advice to keep in mind and teach my daughter when the time comes.
~Laura
How true. I learned something from each of the relationships I had before my husband, but I also have some emotional damage from them, which we worked hard to overcome. Mr. Right will show up at the right time, you just have to have faith. XO
I love this post! Such true words, and I agree with Laura. Although I had heard the saying before, " with every past relationship we give a piece of our heart away and then when we meet the one, we don't have a whole heart to give." Very true. I just met someone who is wonderful, but I feel that I'm not opening myself up 100% due to previous heart breaks. Thank you for sharing your story! :)
I looove this post - I also dated a boyfriend for 3 years of high school and 2 years of college and then we broke up and I wasn't really quite sure what to do with myself.
And it's so true what you say, although I don't regret my previous relationship, it did make me a bit less trusting and a bit more cynical when it came to new relationships.
But, in the end I'm so glad we have God to help us find our way :)
xxx
Jenna
ps You and your hubby are adorable!
WORD!
if we are really praying for it and we are really trusting God with it, then we don't need to be worried over missing mr. right!
as always wise words meg :) so true! i was in a horrible relationship and finally realized i was the one that needed to end it. i prayed for God to send me someone and began searching for myself within the following months. God answered my prayers and 4 years later we're getting married :) xo
What a sweet post. Thank you for sharing your journey. How wonderful, you found your Mr. Perfect! Now that I look back, I can see that I too was praying to God (without realizing it) for someone to share my love with and to be my husband especially after being in a terrible relationship for 3 or 4 years. It was with someone who was not right for me & did not treat me right. When that ended, I thought to myself - Will I ever find 'the one' .. I was extremely negative and thought that it wasn't going to happen for me. & then I met him, and everything felt so right. I thank God everyday for it : )
Thanks again for sharing!
Sheila xo
http://livelaughlovemrsrj.blogspot.com/
Awwh!!<3
I've been in a few relationships that at the time I'm sure were exactly what I needed (either to learn who I was or to teach someone else) and hate to say it but my heart probably isn't as whole as it could be.
Maybe my prayer now needs to be for God to restore my heart.
Thank you for such a meaningful post :)
Just found your blog and following!!
Great post as always Megan. :) I love the mud photo of you two. So adorable and fun!!
Such an awesome post, girl! SO true!
I really needed those words of wisdom today. It's hard to be the single one when all your friends are married and your years post college. Praying that the Lord helps me keep my heart guarded.
awesome post! you all are adorable!
Love this post!! SO sweet and TRUE!
Preach it girl!!! :) I don't look back anymore-- but I definitely hate that small pieces of me were given away, hurt and broken by others in my past. Thanks to our wonderful Savior who put the right man into my life for me to truly love and marry!! :)
Amen, girl! :-)
this is definitely a post i needed today! thanks so much megan for writing it, and i'm so glad that God blessed you with your husband :)
I have missed your posts like this, friend. I LOVE this and your really inspire me to pray hard about my future marriage.
Thank you. I can't think of anything else that I can say besides Thank you.
Such a wonderful post girl, so true :-)
My mom always prayed for me to find a good, Christian husband...even when I was little! Those mom prayers work! ;) I am going to pray the same thing for my children, out loud, with them so they hear me, too. What a wonderful thing to do. You and your hubby are so cute. We are lucky gals with our sweet, country husbands. ;)
So important for girls everywhere to hear (or read)! Thank you for speaking God's truth :) I've always prayed for my future husband, too! I think it'll be awesome to tell my future spouse one day that I prayed them into my life :)
This is SO true!!
deep but so true :)
loved reading this.
have a fabulous weekend!
Very well said. I enjoyed it very much. So glad you found the one!!
I read a very long time ago about giving your heart away in pieces when you date. I was so blessed that the only guy I ever really date was my husband. It is so worth the wait (we started dating when I was 26). We were married within a year of dating, and had our first child withing 14 months. Guarding your heart is so important. It makes married life great!
love this! cute pics too!!
i agree with what you said at the end. we do grow and learn from past relationships, but in all of the past ones we gave our heart to, it's like we don't have our whole heart to give to the one we truly love and will spend the rest of our life with. even though i have been with my husband for 9 years...my heart is still mending from past relationships i have been in. sorry, kinda poured my heart out. :)
have a good weekend.
SO WISE :) And so true. Love it! You learn a lot dating the wrong guys but LOSE a lot too.
So glad to see you so happy, smiling and blessed! - Becca
I'm totally making my 13 year old daughter read this post!!!
This was so beautifully written Megan! Thank you for sharing. I know this is something that I really need to remember in my current single-ness.
Such a great post to start off the weekend :) You and your hubs are sooo cute!
Happy weekend :)
You guys are so adorable together :)
wonderful post. and I couldn't agree more in regards to past relationships. there is definitely part of your heart that you might not ever get back...
I love love love love this post. I can't even tell you how much. You are so right about past relationships. I don't feel like I've given a part of my heart away, but I do feel like we are plagued with fears, jealousies, and insecurities of the past. I wouldn't change anything, because I wouldn't end up where I am now, but I wish I had listened more to what God was telling me and been more patient. I hope every girl/woman who reads this post and takes it to heart. It is one of the BEST I've read. Thanks for sharing! zo
What a wonderful reminder, thank you!!! :)
I love how you said that every relationship we're in, we give little pieces of our heart away. It makes me feel so much better to know that I've never been in a serious relationship before. Thank you for this!
LOVE THIS!
i just love when i stumble across meaningful posts such as this one. i certainly needed to hear this and remind myself of this everyday! i could not agree more with you, lady! thank you, for posting this! it really does mean a lot! :)
I love that you shared this deep post today. Very well written. I need to seek God more. Pray more. Be better. And I agree.. from every relationship you always have those insecurities and jealousies that linger on to the next. And it's not fair to the one you are with when they weren't the one to cause these feelings. Thanks for sharing. I needed this. And I love the pictures you chose btw!
Oh Megan, I love this post! This is so so so true! I really needed to hear this today. Thanks! :)
And then maybe when the right person comes along, we don't have a whole heart to give anymore. We have jealousies, insecurities and fears that hang around and interfere with our ability to love and trust the next person.
I've never seen it more well put.
Megan, I think God called for you to write this post just so I could read it! I have been struggling with this big time over the last few weeks and having patience to wait on God's timing! I have never dated before and want to fully give my heart to one man, whenever he comes along! Thank you so much for writing this!
Wow, very nicely and simply put!
So sweet and so, so true!!
This post is why I love you. Seriously one of the best things you've written! Love you and love your love story!
Erin
Great post!! I am in that "waiting" phase. I was in a serious 3 yr. relationship that ended BADLY, went on some boring dates after that, and right now I just don't want to be in something that isn't my Mr. Right.
we have three children (boy 9, girl 7, girl 3) and i think it is so true to even teach them at an early age that God has a plan for them and a purpose. within the next few years we will start having those conversations with them. we have found some great books (the titles escape me right now) at the christian book store with themes such as this that are written at their level. it is never to early to begin preparing the heart of your child, especially since so many are giving more than their hearts away at a very young age.
on a personal note i did not marry until age 31. so thankful that God prepared my heart to wait until my husband came along. we can speak with truth to our children about the importance of waiting ~ in all aspects of a relationship ~ even if you have to wait 31 years!
I just really needed to hear this. I was just crying to my mom, saying how I didnt think I was ever going to find someone. Thank you!
I love love love this post. I am so incredibly blessed to have found the man I am with now, but I spent a lot of time and a lot of energy on guys that were no good for me!
I also wanted to say how amazing it is that your mom specifically prayed for your future spouse. That is such an amazing gift and it is something I would love to do for my future children. Simply amazing.
Hope you have a good weekend!
This is so sweet! I'm so glad God sent him for you!
You guys are toooooo cute!
xo
I already commented on this post, but I just had my husband read it. I saved it and I'm going to have McKayla read it when she is 12 or 13 years old. I want this for her with all my heart!
This is SUCH an amazing post. It truly touched my heart today reading it, it will definitely be starred in my reader forever so I can always go back to read it! I've never really thought of it that way, so THANK YOU for sharing this. It was perfect and just what I needed to hear!!! Love reading your blog (:
xo
You and your husband are so darn adorable!!!
I love this post! When I was younger I would always pray and wonder who I was going to marry. Then I met my now husband, I remember praying all the time and thanking God. :)
Girlfriend--I needed to hear this post today. *Sigh* I just need to remember to "let go and let God." Sometimes it's so hard, though.
What a beautiful post! I love knowing that my parents prayed for my husband. I learned for my past relationship, but I wish I hadn't. We brought out the worst in each other :/ and I almost dated my now husband at the time but my 15 year old self was swayed to the other guy even though my husband and I continued to talk daily and become best friends.
Have a wonderful weekend!!
You two are adorable!
I LOVE this post... and it touches quite a nerve for me. Having gone through my divorce, and getting back with him, it makes me so happy. But I can't help but think of the two years we really weren't together. You are right about pieces of the heart being given away. However, if those two years got me where I am this morning, I am going to get past it, because I am right where I am supposed to be :)
Hope you have a great weekend, sweets!
This is such a great post! I love knowing that people are so deeply in love and believe it the power of prayer. I was tagged in a little game on my blog and guess what? I tagged you!! Check it out over at A Sweet Southern Mess!
-Anna
asweetsouthernmess.blogspot.com
Very sweet post! God's timing is perfect! I've already learned that lesson.
Have a great weekend!
Very sweet post! God's timing is perfect! I've already learned that lesson.
Have a great weekend!
Amen sister! Prayer is powerful. I'm so glad you found Mr. Right! :)
Did you write this post for me?! I just got out of my four and a half year relationship....and I just turned 24! I am definitely having a lot of fears and insecurities right now...but I am trusting God!!! Thank you for encouraging me. So happy you found such an amazing man hun!
Wow you just never know when love will hit you! Glad you found your husband!
I could not have said that any better. What an encouragement to so many women (and maybe creepy dudes? Ha!) out there! I love your testimony and willingness to share. So beautiful, Megan!
I loved this post, Megan. And I agree that we end up giving away little pieces of our heart, but at the same time, I feel like giving away some pieces makes more room for our true love to always have enough room and space to grow in our hearts. Just a thought! :-)
such a sweet post megan! my mom and dad always prayed for our husbands growing up....well, i guess they still are :)
i seriosly loved reading this - very relatable!
I love this and totally agree. I only had 1 serious boyfriend before the husband and only 1-2 other guys that ever caught my interest. It just wasn't worth it to me to spread my heart so thin.
I prayed for a hubs for a long time but it was worth the wait!
Sounds like I'm not the only one who planned on the whole marriage thing right after college...haha ;) I wrote this about a month ago, which I think echoes your sentiment. Except I am still waiting for mine. :) http://hemakesallthingsnew.blogspot.com/2011/12/put-me-in-coach.html
this was beautiful. I don't have anything deep to say back toehr than that i agree :)
This is so true! Be patient and trust that it will all work out. I love it.
I loved this post so much that I spotlighted it for Lots of Link Love at my blog, Stress Case.
http://stresscasey.blogspot.com/2012/02/lots-of-link-love.html
Lots of Link Love is a link-up to encourage bloggers to highlight their fellow bloggers' exceptional posts every other week. I would love if you shared Lots of Link Love with your readers, and if you considered linking up with me for the next one!
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