Preparing for the One
Sharing some helpful suggestions for preparing for marriage to the one God has prepared for you from my good friend, Witlee Ethan, and also a book review of The Catholic Wedding Planner.
+JMJ+ Forming good, healthy romantic relationships is especially difficult for a survivor of sexual abuse. However, it is possible! A few years ago I shared a bit about marriage after trauma and you can read that post HERE.
Even if you are a survivor who has worked through trauma, you may already realize that it is a cross you will always carry. Rest assured, if you keep doing what you need to do, the burden will feel less with time. If you feel marriage is a vocation God is calling you to, then preparing for “the right one” is so important. A lot of people don’t think to prepare before they meet someone but that is exactly what single men and women should be doing.
I feel far more qualified to speak to the ladies out there and so I am going to primarily be addressing you gals. However, to all you guys, please read on because you just might get something from this too!
A question a lot of my fellow women ask is, “How do I prepare for the man God has for me?”
Make no mistake, if God desires marriage for you then He is preparing someone for you and in His time. I hear the frustrations of so many wonderful single ladies who are wondering why it is taking so long to meet the one. Well, all I can say is that God will send you your spouse when the timing is right. Perhaps you have some praying and preparing to do and perhaps your future spouse needs to do the same. God isn’t going to bring you together until you are both good and ready.
Not my time, Lord, but yours!
In addition to putting the work into healing and into becoming the best version of yourself that you can possibly become (with God’s help of course), there are many ways you can prepare for the man God has set aside for you. My dear friend, Witlee Ethan (podcast host, ministry founder, and human rights activist), recently listed a series of “How to Prepare for the One God has for You” on social media and I am sharing some of her suggestions with you here.
Side note: my husband and I have been married for 13 years and I wish I had done many of these things before we started dating! I just love these ideas and hope you will be as inspired as others have been!
Thank you, Witlee, for your witness and for sharing your beautiful advice!
Now a word for those of you who have already found “the one.” What’s next for you? Has a proposal of marriage been made yet? Is your future together being talked about? If so, I have the perfect book for you as you plan for the sacrament of marriage.
This book is a resource I wish I had had all those years ago as my then-fiancé and I planned our wedding and prepared to spend our lives together as husband and wife. The Catholic Wedding Planner will not only help to keep a couple organized as they plan for their nuptials, but it will also help to keep them focused on the beauty and sacredness of the sacrament they are approaching.
So often I have seen couples getting so caught up in the hustle and bustle of flowers, music, drama surrounding guests, the outfits, decorations, and the reception that they forget what it is they are actually preparing for. They forget to continue praying (alone and together). They forget to keep preparing for one another.
This would be the perfect gift for a newly engaged couple or, if you are newly engaged, go grab yourself a copy!
GIVEAWAY
I would love to gift someone with a copy of this fantastic resource! All you have to do is go to either my Facebook or Instagram page and follow the directions on The Catholic Wedding Planner post.
Go HERE to order your copy of The Catholic Wedding Handbook!
Disclaimer: this post and giveaway is in no way sponsored by Our Sunday Visitor. I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback and am sharing my thoughts in this blog post.