How I'm Currently Preparing for the Season I'm Not Yet In

So if you've been paying attention, you'll know that the thing I'm believing God for right now in this season of my life is a life-giving marriage. It's something I've always desired and probably my biggest earthly dream. But for the longest time, I didn't feel like I should be preparing for what I was praying for because, "I'm not there yet, and I don't know if I will ever be, so what's the point? Why get my hopes up?" But over the past year or so, God has really been showing me that my learning and preparing for this next season isn't jumping the gun; it's actually wise. So, here are some of the things I've been doing specifically to prepare for this next season.

1. Reading, reading, reading
Books provide a wealth of knowledge, and for someone like me who is completely lost as to what a godly relationship even looks like PRACTICALLY, I need as much knowledge as I can get. So, recently to prepare for the season of my answer, I've been reading some really solid books on marriage and dating. These are a list of the best ones:

  • Boundaries in Dating by Henry Cloud and John Townsend - This is without a doubt my favorite book on the subject. I love the Biblical approach it takes while still being realistic and practical. If you have struggled with dating in the past, or just have no idea where to begin, this is a fantastic book.
  • The Sacred Search by Gary Thomas - I read this as part of a small group and it honestly gave me so much foundational knowledge on what marriage is and what it isn't and getting to the heart of why we want to be married. It's honest and real. Definitely a must read.
  • Swipe Right by Levi Lusko - This book is fairly new and doesn't necessarily hit marriage specifically, but it does hit on creating habits that will better your marriage and dating life. Love Levi's style of writing and his wisdom is unparalleled.
  • When God Writes Your Love Story by Eric and Leslie Ludy - This book revolutionized my thoughts about control over my future marriage. Because of this book, I was challenged to hand over the "pen" to God to write my love story. It just presents the beauty of that so wonderfully.
  • 31 Prayers for My Future Husband by Jennifer and Aaron Smith - I'm currently going through this right now as sort of a nightly practice. Every night I do one prayer for my future husband. They are all on different topics and are worded so wonderfully. There's so much power in making these prayers your own and praying it over the man you one day will be married to. There's also a version for guys!

2. Gain Wisdom
If there's one thing I know, it's that I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to this. So being able to gain wisdom from other people is crucial. One huge thing I've been doing is observing those around me in marriages or committed godly, life-giving relationships and learning from their processes. Obviously, I don't know what goes on behind the scenes so I don't get a full picture, but God's placed these people in my life and I get the opportunity to see how they are going about their relationship. Another things I do is listen to sermons on the topic. Here are two of my favorites:

  • Single, Dating, Engaged, Married Series by Ben Stuart - Ben Stuart KILLS it with this series. He takes each stage of romantic relationships and keeps it biblical but also practical. I'd HIGHLY recommend it for wherever you are in that journey. 
  • The Song of Songs Series by Ben Stuart - Ben goes through the entirety of the book of Song of Solomon (aka: the most avoided book in the Bible) and talks about what it teaches us about marriage and relationships. So important for anyone looking to be married one day. Even though I was no where close when I listened to it, it blessed me so greatly to learn about the beauty of what marriage was intended to be. 

3. Journal
If you haven't figured it out already, I process things through writing. So, I've been keeping a journal of my experiences throughout this season of singleness and waiting. There are some entries that are so raw it hurts, and some entries where I'm wholeheartedly confident in God's promise. I love doing this and I highly recommend it because it not only helps process current emotions, but looking back shows the faithfulness of God. One day when I do walk into God's promise, I can look back at the journey and every single detail of it. 

4. Being faithful in what God's given me 
The Bible promises that if we are faithful with the small, we can then be trusted to be faithful with the larger things. God really convicted me of this last summer. He said, "Megan, how are you going to be a wife if you aren't even consistently taking care of your house? You don't cook consistently for yourself, how are you going to do so for a family?" Talk about a smack to the head! So, I started to be more intentional about practicing those skills that I would need for the thing I was praying for. 

These are just a few of the things I've been doing and I hope the practicality of it will get you thinking about the practicality of what you can do in your current season to prepare for the answer to what you've been praying for. 


About Me

Christian first, teacher second, boyband connoisseur third.

I'm walking through the Christian life struggling just as much as everyone else, but I just happen to process my struggles through writing. These are my thoughts; these are my revelations.

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