Dating and Life

Wow! I haven't been on here in forever! I am so sorry you guys! So I have been pretty crazy lately but I finally got a chance to write on here. So today, I had Bible Study and the teacher is teaching on hard decisions we will have to make in life that aren't necessarily mentioned or talked about directly in the Bible. So its been a very good and helpful class and I am super thankful to be taking it.

Well today, we talked about dating. And it really was a blessing to me. We all put on a card something that we were unsure what the Bible said about and handed it in and mine happened to be dating. So it was really cool. But sometimes, when I really like a guy, I will be distracted by him but I never put it into the perspective that he gave us today. So I am going to share a little bit of what he talked about today and how it spoke to me.

So first I am going to define dating:
Dating is an exclusive relationship with a member of the opposite gender. So I am going to give you a few of his points and some thoughts of my own.

1. First he talked about how EVERY young heart longs for acceptance, dreams of love, but teen hearts are not prepared for exclusive relationships. 
2. Exclusive relationships are meant to progress, but teen relationships have no where to go. So what he is saying is that relationships and dating is eventually supposed to lead to marriage. And when your a teen, there is really no where for that relationship to go because you cannot get married yet and so you end up doing things that you regret. 
3. Every date is a potential mate.
4. A teen's biggest struggle is: waiting. "I am tired of waiting." That is often what we say and its our excuse for a relationship. But you should understand that You Are Not Waiting, You Are Preparing! 

If you make a habit (like a lot of teen girls do) dating a guy for 6 months, breaking up with him and moving on, only to break up with the next guy and then go to another, it will only develop a bad kind of thinking. So when you actually get married, when something happens, your mind automatically turn to leaving him like you have always done with every other guy. We need to prepare now so that we can be a good spouse one day.

So these are some things he encouraged us to think about:

• I will maintain friendships that honor God and help me grow in His grace.
• I will recognize the dangers of exclusive relationships.
• I will keep God first in my life and all my friends will come after Him.
• I will pace my friendships and focus on what I am becoming rather than who I like or who likes me. 
• I will not date an unbeliever, a backslidden Christian, or someone my parents would dissaprove of.

The difference between young and older people's relationships are: that a teenagers relationships are based on feelings and that he makes you feel good. But our feelings change so easily. When we are older, our relationships are based on love and its a lasting love. That is another reason to wait until God brings the right one into your life. But it also has to be the right time. If he is the right one in high school, he will still be there and the right one in college. 

And then here are two good points he made regarding waiting.

• Exclusive teen relationships trade preparation for pretend, and that's a bad trade.
• You focus on the preparation and let God focus on the person.

So I could really relate to wanting to be accepted and loved for who I am but sadly to say it, I have let a guy cloud my view. I let a guy distract me and he even took the place of God in my life. That is idolatry. Thankfully God has helped me to just be friends with this person. I think that often, when we don't wait and we struggle, we make mistakes that will ultimately effect our lives. Not always in a good way. So I pray that the Lord will help me to wait on His timing and He will bless me with the person He knows is best for me. So hopefully, this kind of made sense and helped you.

Well, tomorrow morning, I am leaving for the beach and I am so excited..pictures to come. And I have been praying about college and where to apply for scholarships but I am praising the Lord because I have the opportunity to BJU (Bob Jones University) to look at the school next week. So please pray for me that the Lord would lead me in the right direction and provide the finances that I will need to go.