In our faith, we’re taught to pray and wait for the blessings of God. It’s true that this is the way to salvation, but the road to get there can be difficult. The same goes for finding your soulmate. God will bring him or her to you when it’s time, but the waiting can feel unbearable at times. How do you know when it’s time to act and when it’s time to wait? This real-life story helps to illuminate the difficult and sometimes dark path to finding The One.
A Long Wait
My sister didn’t believe in the dating world. It seemed almost trivial to her. Once she started to date again, I told her: “Watch God send you the man of your dreams, because you waited for so long and were so patient.” I was hoping she would never have to go through what I have, enduring short-lived relationships marked by uncertainty and longing.
My sister had dated one guy in college and that was the end of it. She was hurt, but she knew she had settled. She waited five years and pursued God’s heart alone. She never looked around or tested the waters. I can hear her now, telling me, “Stop settling. Just stop settling and wait. God has him for you.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right,” I’d say as I slipped out the door to meet a guy for coffee. I never listened or stood still like she did.
Praying For Guidance
Around January of 2014, while she lived in wintry Colorado Springs, she got down on her knees before God, her window and her mountains, while the snow fell and the sun barely peaked. She prayed fervently about her future husband and started to take that particular desire more seriously. She prayed about the things that she truly desired in a man for the first time.
She ended up dating a guy for several months and risked her loyalty and her love. She dared herself to brave the waters she had held back from for five years. She did this not because she was desperate, or just wanted babies already, or had her picture-perfect life planned out, but because she’s human. Love finally awakened inside of her after years of silence.
A Twist Of Fate
But this relationship didn’t work out. It left my sister brokenhearted. “I don’t understand … why me? I waited for five years!”
It was a difficult time. I didn’t understand why someone like my sister had to go through a breakup when she was the one person I was sure would never have to go through that again. She was patient. She was pure. She was undeniably in no rush.
So why her, of all people? She was the one always counseling me through all of my futile relationships. It’s difficult to wrap your head around something that doesn’t feel fair, isn’t it? But in times of pain, we need to remember God. Did Jesus Christ deserve what He got, after living a blameless life? I think we all know the answer.
Finding Peace
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28
Every now and then, life happens. Relationships get pushed back from us like the sea pulls away from the shore. But God wants to help you find peace. For anyone who’s going through an unforeseen heartache, know this: sometimes, you don’t have to learn a lesson. Sometimes, pain is a resource for God so that we can simply grow stronger in Him, especially for those He loves.
“The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Hebrews 12:6
Growing In God’s Love
My sister’s despair was real. She’s stronger for it, though. She’s always been a warrior to me. She’s a fighter through a quiet chronic disease. She started her own non-profit, photographing special needs children, while donating profits to the poor. She’s persevered through many quiet hells. But now she laughs like I’ve never heard before and she smiles to her future, all thanks to God’s word.
She’s risen from her pain, because she prayed to a God who heard her cry.
“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:1-2
He was always near to her.
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
He healed her heart.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
He strode before her to make the rough places smooth.
“I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.” Isaiah 45:2
He will do the same for all those who are battling a storm they wish never existed. He will, because He’s Almighty God, the same God He was for Abraham and Rachel and Hagar and Esther.
If you’re trying to overcome heartbreak, take comfort in these passages. Even if you wait for the right one, there might be a few missteps along the way. But that’s okay, because God will be there for you in every season of life and throughout every storm that challenges you.
“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4