How are we supposed to know we aren’t messing up God’s plan for our lives? How are we supposed to know this is the right person to date or marry? How are we supposed to know this is the right college to attend? Since we are searching for God’s will, we get caught up in an endless cycle of anxiety and indecision because we don’t want to mess up God’s plan. As a result, we sit and wait, hoping that God will show up and do something for us.
What is it that draws our hearts to the beauty of Christmas? Why is it that we are so sad when it’s over? It’s not the overcrowded malls, or the message of Hallmark’s movies to find the “spirit of Christmas”, or even the delicious treats that come with the holiday. There is something so much deeper, so much more beautiful than our hearts realize.
I remember the day when I received my purity ring. Â As a thirteen-year-old girl, I was mesmerized by the glittering of the garnet stone in the sunlight. Â My parents explained to me what it meant to be pure, and how the ring was a symbol of a commitment.
I don’t think I fully got it.  Even though my parents did their best to help me understand the holistic design for purity, my young mind oversimplified the concept of purity and made it solely about the physical aspect.  As a brand new teenager who hardly even spoke to boys, I thought that the whole “purity deal” was easy. Of course I would be abstinent! I had been taught that sex before marriage went against God’s Word.  I didn’t think that I would need a reminder of my commitment to purity.
For as long as I can remember, my dream has been to become a wife and mother. In my mind, the ideal scenario was to start dating in late high school, get married fresh out of college, and start a family not long after. The only problem was that there was never a guy in the picture. I finished high school without dating anyone, so needless to say, things didn’t start out the way I had imagined.
You know you’ve messed up. How could anyone love you anymore? No matter what you do, there is nothing that can atone for your mistakes. Yet your husband comes and pursues you, like you are priceless. What kind of love is this?
