Too many girls spend college dreaming about the day they get engaged. This season of waiting for the wedding day is exciting, but it's nothing in perspective of a lifetime waiting for the day we meet Jesus, our true Groom. So chill out, and enjoy where life has you today. 

I got engaged on November 24 this past fall to a man who is the most tangible gift of God’s grace in my life, aside from Jesus. While Ticer is my best friend, the man I love and care most about in this world, he isn't the sole focus of my love and attention. Being engaged is a fun and exciting season, but we still struggle with the same problems we did before we were engaged. We are still two broken people, who are in love with a God who we realize is the only solution to our brokenness. Marriage is not that solution.

Multiple girls have approached me, asking questions like “Are you so busy with wedding planning?” and “Is your life completely different now?” While their intentions behind these questions are good, receiving the same questions over and over again makes me realize the stigma people think goes along with being engaged. Some common misconceptions are that my life is now completely consumed with wedding planning. This is very false. I am still consumed with the business of college, work, friendships and homework. An occasional trip to Pinterest or addition to a wedding guest list is the only difference in my day to day routine.

Getting married will be one of the best moments of my life, because I get to become one with the man God created to be my forever sidekick. But this moment doesn’t compare to the moment I will get to see my savior face to face. That is the moment I am more concerned with planning and preparing for. I would hate it if I wasted a year of my life dreaming, planning and stressing over one day that will pass.

This article is a message to girls out there who have the misconception that being engaged will completely change your life. I promise everything is exactly the same, you just get to plan the future with your best friend. It doesn’t give you an excuse to forget your purpose here and now, which is to love others as He has first loved us. This may be cheesy, but it needs to be said.

My goals are to be content where I am today as a fiance, friend, roommate, student, sister, dancer, leader, employee and member of Chi Omega. Don’t get me wrong, I'm counting the days until I get to say "I do" to the man of my dreams, and wedding planning is a blast! Planning the future will come as it may, because planning has to happen, but my head is certainly not in the clouds. Don’t let the attention of being a fiancé and marriage become an idol in your life. It was created for so much more than that.