The reward of Waiting!

ELLEN PETRAKIS 

Hi guys…this isn’t easy for me to get up here and speak in front of you. I am a kindergarten teacher and do much better speaking to 5 year olds then teenagers. But God impressed on my heart to tell you my story so here it is… I was about 14 years old, just starting high school, when I made the decision to save myself for marriage. Having grown up in church I knew that it was the right thing to do. I felt very strongly about waiting for my husband and even though all of my friends felt differently they always respected my decision. Even my guy friends respected how I felt, however they always tried to get me to change my mind As the years went by, I watched as my friends dated guys, slept with them and then broke up. I remember listening to my friend Pam as she cried her eyes out when she found out she was diagnosed with HPV, an incurable STD she got from a guy she hardly knew. I begged my best friend not to go through with her abortion when she got pregnant but she refused my help. I remember looking into my friend Rebecca’s eyes as she lay on a hospital bed at South Oaks recovering from her suicide attempt. She tried to kill herself b/c her boyfriend she gave her virginity to had broken up with her for another girl. It confirmed to me that I had made the right decision. These guys didn’t really care for these girls, mostly they just used them. It became “known” that I was a virgin and wasn’t one of those girls. I kinda liked that. It made me different from everyone else. And when people would ask me why, I would be able to tell them about my relationship with God and how he wants us to wait until marriage and how I wanted to do that for him. I would tell myself…until a guy is willing to get up in front of my family, his family and God and promise to love me forever, he didn’t deserve me. It was that simple. My mom always told me that I would be the one the guys would remember, not the 10 other girls he slept with. He would remember me b/c I wouldn’t sleep with him And I can tell you today that my mother was right. Years later when I ran into old boyfriends or even just my guy friends they would always say there was something different about you – you weren’t like the other girls. They may not have known it at the time but in a way they respected me and realized later on why. Well, high school came and went. I had boyfriends, some waited and respected my decision and some didn’t. College came and went, more boyfriends some waited, some didn’t. When I turned 25, I realized I had dated all these guys and not one was worthy, not one was the one that God had for me. I was so thankful that even though I may have wasted some time and went through a lot of heartache, I was faithful to God and did not give away my virginity. I was still waiting to give that gift to my husband. I promised God I would stop dating and just wait. Wait for the one he had for me. Well, about a year and half went by and I was still waiting. Now I was starting to get worried Here I am a 26 year old virgin Did I really wait all these years and now I’m still waiting? My patience was running out…I had read so many books on how to be single – I just couldn’t read one more book I would joke around with God and say when is he going to walk through those church doors? I can’t wait anymore Well, it was Sunday July 11, 2004 when this gorgeous guy comes walking through the church doors. As soon as I saw him I fell in love. The moment we met I just knew that he was the one. God had promised me that he would confirm it to me and he did. The very first time we hung out it was amazing. All the questions, all the doubts they just went away. I looked at this man in the eyes and I could say I waited for you You’re the one And to know that God was in it, that he had planned for this day to happen was incredible. I can tell you it is so amazing to give this gift to your husband. You loved him so much before you even knew him to save yourself just for him. I have some pictures to show you from our wedding that took place this summer. We were married on July 7th almost exactly 2 years after we met, in the Bahamas. Pastor Todd married us and this is the day that I waited for I have a prayer I would like to share with you. It is a prayer that helped me through my waiting period. When I met my husband, I showed him this prayer. He was so honored to see how much I loved him and how I prayed for him before we even met one another. I hope you guys make this your prayer tonight. “Lord God, your Word declares that if I delight myself in you—if I enjoy and seek your pleasure above mine—you’ll give me the desires of my heart (Psalm 37:4). Desiring a husband is neither evil nor selfish because marriage is honorable (Hebrews 13:4). At the beginning of creation, you proclaimed, "It is not good that man should be alone" and then you created Eve to be a suitable partner for Adam (Genesis 2:18). In the name of Jesus, I ask that you would protect the husband—a suitable partner—you have chosen for me. Because the covenant of marriage is sacred (Mark 10:9), I ask for a man of God. Please give me a husband whose love for me is only outmatched by his love for you; a man who will cherish me and build me up (Proverbs 31:28); a man who will honor me (I Peter 3:7) and our marriage vows; a man who will be a good father and provider; a man whom I will be attracted to physically, emotionally, and spiritually; a man who will love me as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). Keep me from attaching myself to another man out of desperation. I will not settle for a relationship that’s second best, convenient, or one that feeds my insecurities. Guard my purity and give me the patience to wait. And when I meet him, confirm to me that he is the one. Release from me the baggage of past relationships, and prepare me for the man You have chosen to be my husband. Free me from any hindrances to a healthy and godly marriage: insecurities, habitual sins, selfishness, and emotional hurts. Dispel my unrealistic expectations that set me up for disappointment. I place my trust in you rather than my partner. In this period of waiting, I will look to you alone to be my companion and best friend. You are the one who redeems my life from the pit, who crowns me with love and compassion, who satisfies my desires with good things (Psalm 103:4-5). I will not be anxious, but as I present my requests to you, flood me with the peace that surpasses all understanding so my heart and my mind are guarded in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6,7). In this request, I commit myself to trust you and do good, to dwell in the land and feed on your faithfulness. I commit my way to you and trust that you will bring it to pass (Psalm 37:35). In your name, Amen.”