The.Worth.in.Waiting.

"Before a girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. And this is how she would go to the king..." Esther 2:12-13

As I am waiting to become Walkers wife, I am reminded of the time Esther spent in waiting before she could go before King Xerxes. Imagine...an entire year set aside to become all you can be for the man you love. Obviously, being a full time student as I plan this wedding, I do not have the time to set aside 12 months to undergo extensive beauty treatments or take etiquette classes. But I do have time to alter my thought process. I do have the time to begin thinking of this engagement period as a time of cultivating versus a time of simply waiting. A time to cultivate the virtues of a Godly woman. A time of preparing myself to be a wife, and eventually a mother. A time to complete my ministry as a single woman, and pray about what God would lead Walker and I to do as we begin our ministry together.

It would break my heart to look back on these 9 months, after I am years married and well-established, and have to face the fact that I did not recognize these moments for what they were. That I didn't use them learn, and grow, and become a better woman for my husband. Charo Washer has this to say in regards to time spent as a woman waiting on marriage:

[It is a wonderful thing when God blesses a woman with a husband. That special someone who is just perfect for her in that he has been carefully and thoughtfully designed by God to be united as one with her. It is such a joy for the woman to look back and remember how God enabled her to wait on Him and that He was faithful to bless. It is still an even greater joy for her to know that her time as a single woman was also a time of seeking God and being faithful to Him and His purpose. That she did not for one moment wish to flee that state, but desired only to trust in God and wait upon His gracious sovereignty.]

So while I am so extremely excited to become Mrs. Walker Brown, it is my hearts biggest desire that I don't allow myself to just sit here and watch it all happen; that I don't get so consumed in wedding gowns & bridal showers that I forget all that God could be doing through me at this special time, if I would only allow it. May I be a Bride-to-Be that cultivates, not simply waits.