I didn’t really grow up with any strict rules, but one rule we did have was no dating until we were 16. You would think such a simple rule would be easy to follow, but man was it hard. All my friends had boyfriends and everyone seemed to have someone, and I just needed a boyfriend. However, once 16 rolled around, I didn’t really see dating the same way I did when I was younger. I didn’t really have the time and basically ignored it. I put dating at the back of my mind.

Then one day a friend at youth group had suggested this book called The Mingling of Souls by Matt Chandler. “Man, this is going to be such a total waste of time to read. I’ve never even had a boyfriend and probably won’t for a while,” were my thoughts. I didn’t really think it would be an impacting book for someone who hadn’t even been on a date, but, you can say that God has a funny way of changing the way you see things.

Matt Chandler, a pastor at Village Church in Dallas, Texas, managed to change my view on dating by using the book of Song of Solomon to really explain what it is like to have a Christ-centered relationship. Not only does The Mingling of Souls talk about dating, but it takes you through all the different stages of a relationship. He takes you from those moments of attraction that you have at the beginning, to the moment you look at that special someone in the eyes and tell them, “I’m not going anywhere.”

I absolutely loved the book and would recommend it to everyone, even if they are in the middle of a relationship, because the book helps you to look at dating not as just a simple relationship between two people, but as something sacred between you, that other person, and God. The book helps you to turn your relationship into a testimony of what it is like to run the same race with someone that God has specially designed for you, or, if you’re single like me, prepare you for when that special someone comes and decides to run the race of life by your side.