So you’ve been dating that special someone for a good chunk of time and feel that you are ready to take it to the next level - engagement. That’s great! This is one of the most important decisions you will ever make in your life - kind of scary huh? I’m going to write a few posts and go through the issues that should be considered before you should get engaged. The first point I’m going to make is that:
You Should Not Rush To Get Married
Everyone is excited about a relationship that is going well. You may be dating that special someone for a whopping 3 months and feel that you’re ready to get engaged. Don’t get me wrong, I know couples who are happily married after only dating for six weeks. With that said, this is a very rare occurrence! I knew my fiancee for 1.5 years before we even started dating. Once we began our “official” relationship, we dated for another 1.5 years before we got engaged. If you know anything about math, that means we knew each other for three years before we got engaged. Am I saying that you must date for exactly 3 years before you get engaged? Absoloutely not. That was the amount of time that my fiancee and I felt that we needed before I “popped the question.”
Even if you are absoloutely positive that they are the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, I still encourage you to take your time! You only date (without the ring) each other once - enjoy that time together. Build a great foundation for your relationship with God at the center. When you encounter problems in your marriage (which you will), you’ll be thankful that you have a solid relationship that is based more on just passionate feelings!
Patience is something that can be difficult especially if you know that the person you are dating is the one that you want to marry. Trust me - as someone who is engaged, I know how hard it can be! I want to be married so bad, but at the same time, I know that God has blessed my fiancee and I with time so we can become stronger without a ton of distractions! We don’t have to worry about paying bills or buying a house- we realize this and are trying to enjoy the time we have together without those distractions!
In the next post I will talk about how important it is to be completely honest with yourself. Remember that marriage is a HUGE decision - you need to make sure that you are ready for this new stage of your relationship!
