One of my good friends shared a brilliant idea with me the other day, she told me she is shifting her focus from finding Mr. Right to focusing on seeking God. I immediately fell in love with this idea, because this mindset is so rare and so precious.
Here's the thing, when I was younger I had this brilliant plan; I would find Mr. Right in high school. When I was in junior high, I thought dating would be a blast. I imagined sharing this giant cheese pizza with someone I really liked while playing Xbox, but I was the ultimate nerd back then. Nonetheless, I had it all planned out. Then I got in high school and my plans sort of crashed and burned. So I planned to date in college at 18 or 19, graduate, and get married a few years later once I found Mr. Right.
But I realized most of my "future plan" revolved around a void called "Mr. Right." I found myself focusing so much on the nonexistent Mr. Right when the Great and Almighty existent God has called me to simply seek Him first and foremost.
I think this reality hit me when my group of junior high girls at church began asking me the same questions about their future Mr. Right that I pondered when I was their age. Questions like "when will he come and what if he doesn't like the same music as me?" I could only answer with the same answer I despised when I was younger, "be patient, seek God, and the answers will be revealed in due time." However, I always tell my junior high girls and close friends to make a list of personality and character traits they seek in their future husband. I tell them to pray about the list and to keep it close because the time will come where they might need it. My list has slightly changed over time, but the majority of it has not changed since I was in middle school. It's a special, tangible thing to use, believe me, and it sure comes in handy in times of confusion.
Here's some truth we need to hold dear to our single hearts as we come closer and closer to that time; pray about Mr. Right, but don't let the idea of Mr. Right consume your growing relationship with the Lord.
Surely it's engraved in our hearts to seek love; humans are relational by nature. But God is also a relational God as we are made in His image. The Lord will reveal His plan for our future, we just have to keep seeking Him.
I love my friend's idea of shifting her focus from finding Mr. Right to focusing on seeking God. Purely because this doesn't mean she isn't closing herself off, but her priority is not seeking a void; it's seeking our Sovereign God. Through shifting our perspective, we can acknowledge God as our ultimate example. Knowing God is knowing love and we cannot know true love until we know God. When we pursue God before pursuing any relationship, we learn truths that become a part of our life compass. We learn how to make God the foundation of our future relationships. We learn that love here on earth is simply a reflection of God's love for His people, just read God's Word; it's everywhere.
