Worth the Wait

Lately I've found myself in a situation where I had to make a choice about my values, about the type of woman I want to be, and one that could very well affect my future. It's a choice that some people make wrecklessly and crash and burn, yet others weigh the possible consequences and make the right choice.

What choice am I rambling about?

I've had to make the choice whether or not I want to stay a virgin until I was married.

When I was younger I would always promise myself that I'd stay a virgin until my wedding night. It would be no big deal. If and when I was ever pressured to have sex or do anything sexual, I'd say "No way, Jose!" and that'd be the end of that. I wore a True Love Waits ring, signed a vow and everything. I was all about the purity.

But with the temptations of being at a wild party school and a few guys with bad intentions in mind knocking on my door, deciding to remain a virgin is something I've had to think about constantly. Does anyone want to date a virgin? Is virginity such a big deal, anyway? Is one time really going to hurt anything? Should I just try it so I have experience and don't feel so clueless all of the time?

Then God brings different thoughts in my mind. I think about the man I want to marry one day, and how it will be so worth the wait to save my body for him. It will be so special and romantic. I see the kids I hope to have and I think about how I want to tell them to wait for their spouse, because I did for mine and it was so worth it. I also see the consequences and regrets of friends I have who didn't wait. They got pregnant, caught STD's, had their reputations ruined, have damaged self-esteem, and everything. It seems to me like five minutes of pleasure can equal a lifetime of pain, but five minutes without pleasure equals instead a lifetime without pain.

The wait is hard, I'm not going to lie. I get tired of getting dubbed as the goody-two shoes, innocent girl all of the time. I'm trying to be especially careful about what I wear...I don't want to give guys even the slightest hint that my body is available. I'm going to watch how I present myself and what situations can be dangerous (I've learned about this the hard way).  The worst thing is on those lonely nights when I'm wondering where on earth God's man for me is at, I wonder how much longer this season of waiting will last.

But no matter how long I have to wait, I know that the wait will be worth it.