Free I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris Page A

That's right; God just asks us to wait. While you might not find that idea bold or daring or very impressive, it is obedient, and our obedience impresses God.
    49 Waiting for God's timing requires trusting in God's goodness. We develop patience as we trust that God denies us good things in the present only because He has something better for us in the future.
    I'll freely admit it--I often have difficulty trusting God. When it comes to my love life, I have a nagging fear that He wants to keep me single forever. Or I fear that if He lets me marry, He'll match me up with some girl to whom I won't feel attracted.
    I know these worries are silly. In my better moments I admit I haven't based these fears on the reality of the loving, caring Father in heaven whom I've come to know. But even though I know He's a good God, I often allow my lack of faith to affect the way I approach dating.
    joshua harris
    I fear God might forget me. Instead of trusting in His perfect timing, I often try to take things into my own hands. I grab my life's calendar from God and frantically begin to pencil in my own plans and agendas. "God, I know you're omnipotent and all that," I say, "but I really think you missed the fact that this girl over here is my destiny. If I don't go after her now, my future will pass me by!" Eventually I sheepishly hand back the scheduling of my time, energy, and attention, saying, "Of course I trust you, Lord, but I just think You could use a little help."
    dating and marshmallows
    An article in Time magazine left this indelible image in my mind: a little child sitting alone in a room, staring at a marshmallow. This strange picture captures the feelings I sometimes have in my struggle to trust God to take care of my future marital status.
    The articles subject was unrelated to dating--and marshmallows, too, for that matter. It was about actual research done with children. The first few paragraphs went this way:
    It turns out that a scientist can see the future by watching four-year-olds interact with a marshmallow. The researcher invites the children, one by one, into a plain room and begins the gentle torment. "You can have this marshmallow right now," he says. "But if you wait while I run an errand, you can have two marshmallows when I get back." And then he leaves.
    Some children grab the treat the minute he's out the
    50 door. Some last a few minutes before they give in. But others are determined to wait. They cover their eyes;
    the right thing at the wrong time... 81 they put their heads down; they sing to themselves; they try to play games or even fall asleep. When the researcher returns, he gives these children their hard earned marshmallows. And then, science waits for them to grow up.
    By the time the children reach high school, something remarkable has happened. A survey of the children's parents and teachers found that those who as four year-olds had the fortitude to hold out for the second marshmallow generally grew up to be better adjusted, more popular, adventurous, confident and dependable teenagers. The children who gave in to temptation early on were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and stubborn. They buckled under stress and shied away from challenges.
    Of course, the moral of the story is that developing the character necessary to delay gratification in small areas can translate into great success in other areas. But the four-year-olds in the study didn't know that. They didn't resist the marshmallow in hopes of getting better grades in high school. They overcame their urge to eat the marshmallow because they had faith--they could envision the moment when the nice man in the white coat would come back with two marshmallows. They persevered because they trusted.
    This story really encourages me. Sometimes as I wait on God's timing for romance, I go through the same internal struggle those kids must have endured. Like a marshmallow beckoning the child to eat its sweet fluffiness, dating is