I'm Nichole, a wedding photographer, wifey, dog mom, and attorney for creatives based in Greenville, Dating. Connect with me below using the social icons. And don't forget to share your favorite posts! There was a time before my boyfriend. And when I was single, I was pretty happy for the most part. But lauren there was always a desire within me for a relationship. And while I was a happy, pretty fulfilled person, for the longest time, that desire mattered a great deal to me.

In some blog of my life that desire consumed me but in different ways throughout different read more. There would be times of longing where I looked around and saw others happy and wanted that same happiness. Dating would be times of impatience where I tried to approach guys as just a means lauren an end, looking at every guy as a potential relationship instead of recognizing them for the actual person they were.

Then came the feelings of being not pretty enough, not flirty enough, not aggressive enough, not wild enough. It all became about ME.

And yet it has everything to do with me, but not in the way Tall site uk thought. A relationship was never meant to be about pleasing myself. It was always about letting God cultivate my lauren through a relationship to become more like His Son. Its purpose was meant to draw out myself in blog I had never seen before and to teach me lessons about where I needed some work. The purpose was the same as every single other thing in my life: refining me for God.

There was never a time where I was in some weird void. I was always in a stage of a part of the relationship. Looking back on that season of my life, it was so worth the wait and the work.

It all started when I was having a conversation with my dad back in November of We were catching up, read more he asked if there were any guys on the horizon. And it was almost as if God was waiting for me to come to that point.

I needed to learn that lesson before I could move on. Only then had I reached the next level of the game, and could unlock new power-ups. I think we often do the same in relationships. Which is necessary and helpful!

Yet we fail to really consider the gray areas. How do they spend their time? What do they enjoy doing? How do they fill their free time?

Sounds silly, but neglecting to think about that middle category leads us onto one of two paths. Obviously prayer, common sense judgment, and advice from multiple wise friends and counselors is essential in determining whether or not the person is truly suitable to be dating in light of the circumstances. Look at the gray.

We associate need with weakness. And words have also cheapened our view of need in a very real dating. Need is the single greatest quality to look for click the following article another human, romantic relationship or otherwise. Need is a true sign of humility. And the humble person finds great favor with God.

And not only that but also someone who is in tune with giving to meet your needs. My uncle explained it to me this way.

Worth the Wait | What I Learned after One Year of Dating | Personal Post

Imagine two sticks propped up against one another. Lean too much, and if one stick falls, the other does too, but lean just enough on the other, and you still stand your ground and can blog up the pieces if need be. I also did the free trial dating then about a month-long membership with Marriagea company started by a married couple who posts webcasts and additional resources about various topics related to marriage and relationships headed in that direction for those who want to learn.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. Psalm ESV. March 27, Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Nichole Lauren. Welcome to the blog. Browse by category:. Search for:.

Let's connect! Full disclosure, this post has been sitting in my draft box for close to six months. I come from a broken home. I have more than a handful of character flaws that have reared their ugly heads time and again. Everything from a quick temper and selfishness to jealousy and impatience. Relationships are hard work. As I was scrolling through Pinterest the other day, I saw a quote that said. Relationships feel good. Cultivating a friendship through deliberate choices was the best thing we did even if I was impatient at some points along the way.

Slow and steady truly does win the race. Now my waiting looks a little different. My eyes are turned more toward future stability click, the prospect of marriage, waiting for the day long-distance is no longer a thing.

And it is so easy for me to fall back into those same traps Dating experienced while single. When will it happen? Am I measuring up? Are we behind? Going with emotion is easy, letting the wind take you wherever it https://wellnessways.info/dating-app-for-sex.php is simple, effortless. But grounding ourselves firmly with two feet planted walking deliberately step-by-step through the wind blowing in the opposite direction is a little trickier.

Cultivation takes some walking against the wind. I had an idea, like many other areas of my life, that if I worked hard enough, I could make anything work the way I wanted it to work. We crave the clear cut lines, we want to know if something will work out before we invest a lot into it. This goes for homework, cooking, exercising, and practically anything else we do in life. Relationships look a lot more like this:. I mean what if you got married at that first dot? But what if you broke up at that second dot?

Well, you might have missed out on an amazing relationship that just required some work and perseverance. And contrary to what we want to believe inside our souls, this lauren is normal.

Maybe that freaks you out, but for me, learning that was a comfort! Not every low was a crisis. Yeah, the hard times suck, yeah doubts creep in every now and again, but that is why you date. Lows are great!

back to top

On the same token, grace is more important than perfection. Oftentimes the desire for perfection blog from a fear of insecurity. Perfection is worry-free, predictable, linear in most respects. It is easily measurable with perfect straight lines, but insisting on perfection denies the work Jesus did on the cross to redeem our failures and mistakes and turn them into something beautiful.

The lows definitely give richer meaning to the highs that follow. In church last month, we had a sermon about apathy. Our pastor put up a chart on the screen that see more our life activities into three categories: Good, Bad, and It Depends. The point he was trying to make was that we have a pretty easy time categorizing good and bad things. However, we place lauren lot of emphasis on just steering clear from the bad that we forget about the middle category.

We think neutral things like social media consumption, television and internet usage, eating habits, etc. Each situation is different, and in order to determine whether something is good or bad is subjective based on blog personal motivations and specific circumstances. Those things could be bad given the right context or consumption pattern. What if they lauren up? I mean they are an individual person.