Trust me, it's worth the wait.

Dear sweet friend,

You are precious. You are beautiful. You are incredibly talented and smart. You are also extremely amazing. You are worth so much because You were made in the eyes of the most perfect Father. You are not a toy to be used by someone who will mistreat you. You are not a person who should be disrespected or let down. You are not a friend who should be screamed at constantly because of a difference in opinion. You are worthy of waiting even if that means for more than a year. You are worthy of waiting for someone who will love, cherish, and adore you for eternity. You are worthy of waiting for the groom, not the boyfriend.

Dating today, in the twenty first century, is waiting for a read receipt or a "he is typing" on Snapchat. Dating today is sending virtual hugs and liking a selfie on Instagram. Dating today is not true love. Dating today is the opposite of love. It's wanting the idea of someone liking you instead of wanting someone to truly love you. Dear friend, you should not be wasting time worrying about the next response or the next phone call. You should be waiting for a doorbell ring and a physical hug. These technology relationships are not healthy and only give the enemy more of a hold on our lives.

The Lord promises us a future, maybe not the most perfect one, but He does promise us that we will always learn from any situation. And maybe marriage isn't for you. Maybe The Lord's plan for your life is to live unwedded, and that is okay. Having a guy in your life does NOT define you. Being married or having a date to everything you attend is NOT a must. You won't not get invited to a party if you don't bring a guy with you. And if that is the case, you might want to find some other friends, but I doubt anyone would ever do that. But seriously, A GUY DOES NOT DEFINE YOU! You don't have to be you with a boyfriend or a husband. You can be you because you are confident that The Lord will bring you someone if that is in His plans for your life.

However, The Lord does include husbands and spouses in many other people's lives. I promise you, waiting for Prince Charming is wayy better than trying to gain attention from someone off of a selfie on Snapchat. If it is in the plans for your life, The Lord will bring you a real boyfriend, a boyfriend who will buy you ice cream and laugh when you dump it in your lap. A boyfriend who will cuddle with you and watch cute Hallmark movies instead of watching a movie with you over FaceTime. A boyfriend who will come over for dinner instead of him being too embarrassed to see you because he's never talked to you in real life. A real boyfriend will love you and will want to spend the rest of eternity with you. He will want to stroke your hair when you don't feel good and sing to you when you try to fall asleep. The boyfriend that The Lord places in your life may or may not be your whole future. He may or may not be the man who holds your face in his hands and kisses you with his whole being after the preacher announces "You may kiss your bride." The boyfriend that The Lord gives you may be your real Prince Charming.

I promise you that this 21st century dating stuff is NOT worth it. Waiting around for a text message or a Snapchat is nothing like true love. Waiting for a doorbell ring or a honk from the car IS true love. Your relationship shouldn't be revolved around social media but around Christ. You should be seeking Him first, above anyone else, and you should be trusting that He will place the most perfect someone into your life at the most perfect time. Next time you think about wanting to post a selfie just to get that someone to notice you, remember that real boyfriends don't Snapchat you all day. Real boyfriends come over when you need them, pray for you when you need prayer, and put you first always. Real boyfriends only come from The Lord, and trust me, they're worth the wait.

I love you. - Elizabeth