Taking the "If" of "If I Get Married," Seriously

(orignally written 2/20/10) 

I stumbled upon this blog post the other day, and it really struck me. Here are some excerpts, for the whole post, please click here.

"Lately, I have really been questioning whether God even has it in His plan for me to be married someday—but I haven’t been praying about it seriously. This hasn’t changed my desire for a boyfriend, or heck, a date next Friday. But I have been learning a few things about myself that have made me question if I’m supposed to be married someday... 

...Some people know that they will get married someday, it’s just the when or to whom that remains to be seen. Other people, as Paul writes in I Corinthians 7, know that they are called to a life of celibacy and singleness. I’m in a strange state of limbo and could see myself going either way. Hence the need for serious prayer about this issue. In the past, when I said “IF I get married,” or “IF I find someone,” it was followed by a wistful sigh of self-pity. Now I use “if” seriously, genuinely not knowing that marriage is in my future. Sadly, some people, who have been conditioned to do so, jump at the chance to say things like, “Of COURSE you’ll find someone! Don’t be silly! Guys are just stupid and don’t know what they’re missing.” Then I have to correct them and say, “No, really. I really don’t know if I’m going to get married!”

Wow, I have been having the same internal conversations lately.

Ive been praying, “God, if its in your will for me to get married, thats cool, but I am totally up for your plans, and my purpose on this earth is to bring glory to you, so whatever way will allow that to happen best, is best.”

After making a bunch of mistakes in the "love" department, and God teaching me a lot of things about finding my joy and satisfaction in Him, I am currently single, and truly content. Thanks to my local church and many amazing people in my life, its been a grace filled journey.

Whether or not I would date if given the opportunity, hard to say at the moment, but I'm not interested in just putzing around. God has shown me incredible grace and redeeming love, and I’m interested in serving Him to my fullest capacity. If someone else came along that shared my passion, (and liked me?) I’d be all about it. Haha.

A lot to think about though, and like the conclusion from the blog, its time to take the "if" of "if I get married," seriously.

What do you think? Should we be taking the "if" more seriously? If you are not married, do you know for sure that you will get married one day? How do you pray about this kind of thing?

God Bless.