Dating is no easy feat in today’s society since we live in a male-dominated world. As women after the heart of God, we must learn to be submissive to the voice of God at all times, which prepares us to submit to our earthly husbands. The world is saturated with opinions and advice about how to carry ourselves when we are on the dating scene. But the truth of the matter is that dating is just preparation for the big stage of marriage.
Dating is no different from any other undertaking, you must prepare or you will not be successful. The Word of God teaches us in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” You must have a vision of who you want to be as a wife so that you can establish the rules (law) that you want to abide by while dating. The few that I am noting below should shed some light on the direction you need to head in.
1. Respect Yourself: You must set the tone for the way you want to be treated; you are fearfully and wonderfully made and your respect for yourself will demonstrate that to your date.
2. Dress Like a Lady: Your beauty has to flow from the inside out; accentuate your assets, don’t expose them.
3. Speak Like a Lady: Being relatable to someone of the opposite sex does not mean acting like “just one of the guys.” Speak like a woman since that’s what he is interested in.
4. Invest in the Conversation: Communication is almost entirely composed of active listening; it is important to understand his interests and what you have in common.
5. Stand by Your Convictions: Don’t be alarmed if you and your date disagree on minor issues, but it is imperative that he is a man who holds the same spiritual beliefs that you do.
6. Self-Assessment: Are you what he is looking for? Lots of times we get ahead of ourselves when our dates meet our criteria, but we overlook the fact that we may not be what he desires in his life.
7. Broaden Your Horizons: Be sure that you are open to try things that you have never done before; you never know how things may enrich your life. Your date may want to go camping and you don’t like the outdoors. Don’t turn down date #2 for superficial reasons.
8. Be a Lady: Don’t physically attach yourself to someone that God has not declared as yours. You want to have a clear head when waiting and dating. Creating a physical bond with someone who is not yours complicates that process.
God has a mate for each of us and we want to ensure that we keep that in mind. Dating is the way to learn more about ourselves while drawing us closer to that mate. The dating process has its proper place in our lives and we must be sure to place the ground rules for ourselves if we want to be paired with our true soul mate. Dating should be a fun and enriching process as it leads you to the person who will enrich the rest of your life. After all, “til death do us part” is a long time. By setting the standard for yourself while single, you will be able to follow that same standard once you are married.
