Dear you,

Be patient.

Those are the words that echo in my mind every time I ask God, "but, when?"

I know being patient isn't easy nor is it really that much fun. It's actually pretty hard to wait for the girl you know God has created just for you when you so desperately are ready to meet her.

If it makes you feel any better, it's hard for me too.

Knowing that there's a guy out there that God has predestined to be my husband makes me excited yet impatiently anxious.

I know you're wondering, like me, "why not now? I'm ready."

But ....

Are you ready?

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 "Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs."

I'm thinking that I'm probably right in believing that you've heard this verse before. I know I have. But, have you thought about it? You, who is so "ready," have you thought about it? Have you looked at the first three words long enough to appreciate its message?

Love is patient.

If you're ready, what's the problem with being patient? Where's the harm in waiting just a little bit longer for the love that is already meant to be yours? Remember, distance makes the heart grow fonder -- distance being time and space. Imagine how desperately you want her now and then, imagine how much you'll need her once God bestows her as a gift upon your life. Imagine that God is pruning you and watching you grow while you're waiting. Imagine that you are patient and you are kind through it all. You see your friends marry and instead of being envious or boastful of your single nature, you remember that your bride is being prepared for you, too. Imagine what all can come from you being patient -- love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 "Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love -- but the greatest of these is love."

Just like you, I so desperately want to experience the love of my future spouse. I so desperately want to say, "you're the one I've been waiting for." But I also want to be able to say that I had faith in God and His perfect timing. I want to be able to say that I hoped for only a love story as beautiful as the one He and I have shared. But, I mostly want to say "you are the one my heart has been looking for. You were made for me to love." I want to be ready for that kind of love -- not when I say I'm ready but when He, the one who created me to be loved, says you're ready.

So, be patient.

I know it's hard but it's also going to be worth it.

Romans 8:25 "Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience."

Be eager. Be excited. Be joyful. Be hopeful. Be in prayer. But, above all, be patient. Because His promises are true and your desires are given to you according to God's purpose for you. Make sure that you're taking in the fullness of this time you've been told to wait through. Are you ready for the kind of love that is being prepared for you? I know I want to be. You can't rush something that you want to last forever. Really good things take time to grow. Even God took His time in creating the love story between you and Him ... what makes you think He wouldn't take His time in unfolding the love story between you and the woman He has prepared you for?

Your bride is coming. Make sure you're ready.

Be patient.