While You're Waiting: Build Strong Relationships

(Image Credit: Jomphong)

*Recently I was thinking about all I would want my daughters to know before they get married.  Instead of wishing the days away until they walk down the aisle, how would I encourage them to live?  Living in the joy of who God created.  The practicalities and the dreaming.  What would I want to encourage... While they're waiting?  These are some of those thoughts.

During my college years, I built some of the strongest relationships of my life.  I was on my own, meeting new people, and deciding what I truly believed about God and the world.  I purposefully chose a Christian college so that I could be surrounded with professors of moral character who would challenge me in my beliefs.  And it was during this time that the Lord brought some of my dearest friends into my life to strengthen, encourage, and teach me more that I was even learning in the classroom.

Use your single years to build strong relationships.  Spend time with a variety of people: singles, married couples, the elderly.  Dig deep into their lives.  Gather all you can from the lessons they've learned over the years.  Ask the Lord to use your time together so that you both can grow closer to him.

Build these strong relationships 'cause some day, when you're a wife and a mother, you'll need those who can stand with you, encourage you, and help you to see where the Lord is working.  Don't forsake these relationships when you fall in love.  Your single years will be your best opportunity to nurture them, but don't drop them all together when you find yourself with the one the Lord has prepared for you.

These strong friendships will provide a foundation for many years to come.  They will be a part of your community, the community that will uphold your marriage and speak life into your walk with the Lord.  Use the bountiful time in your single years.  You won't ever regret investing in others and allowing them to invest in you.

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