by Brenna Erickson

Created on: May 01, 2008

~You Were Worth the Wait ~
(My personal testimony to saving sex for marriage)

I was once a Christian teenager. It seems like years ago but really is not. Like every other teenager in the world, I struggled with knowing how to fit into the dating scene. I am very relieved that I gained the valuable insight that I did before I made any mistakes.

~Desiring to Be Pursued~

As a female, I desired to be pursued. I desperately wanted the male gender to think I was beautiful, I do not believe there is a young woman out there who does not. Thankfully, I had a stronger desire to be loved by God and to be seen as beautiful in His eyes. During one of my earlier teenage years, my parents gave me a gift that I will never forget. It was a purity ring, and along with the ring a book, titled "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" written by Joshua Harris. When I first looked at the book, my heart sank. "I kissed dating goodbye?" I thought to myself. I was immediately concerned that my parents were not going to allow me to date.

~I Kissed Dating Goodbye~
After reading the book and attending a conference by Joshua Harris, I realized that my parents were not only not allowing me to date; they were also not going to allow me to be heartbroken. The book taught me that I was worth waiting for and that there was someone out there in the world made for me. It reminded me that I was the daughter of the King, that I was a bride, and that God was my bridegroom. I no longer felt the need to be desired by men, but by God.

~Praying for My Future Husband~
I learned to focus on my beauty within, knowing that the man of my dreams would search for my inner qualities over my physical ones. I began to pray for him, his life, and what he was going through at the time. While doing this, I began to love him already. When faced with temptation to flirt with teenage guys, I reminded myself that my future husband would be heartbroken if anything got out of hand. I knew that I would be deeply heartbroken if he let things get out of hand also.

~He was Worth the Wait~
I believe that because I made the decision not to "date around" but to patiently wait for the right guy, that God blessed me with knowing him early on. I met my husband-to-be at age fifteen and feel in love immediately. My heart rejoiced when I found out that he also had never gotten physically involved with any other person. Within months of meeting him, we became best friends. Because I had already been praying for him for many years, my heart knew that he was the one. Before we turned sixteen, he told me that he loved me and was going to marrying me someday. He played me a song called "You Were Worth the Wait" and told me he wanted to have it played at our wedding. Four years later, it was.

We have been married for three years now as of yesterday, and are expecting our first baby in six weeks. Tears fill my eyes now as I think of how grateful I am that my husband also thought that I was worth the wait.

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