My parents dated a total of a month before they got engaged.
I’ll admit, that wasn’t a lot of time for them to get to know each other.
Still, however, despite the odds, they are happily married today.
My husband and I took a little longer to get to know each
other and I’m so glad we did. We met Spring semester of 2019, and I didn’t have
a lot of interest in him at first. We lived in the same apartment complex, in
fact, we were in the same Family Home Evening group (he was the group male
leader otherwise known as FHE Dad). When the boys came over to our girls apartment,
they shared scriptures and an endearing spiritual message which I thought was
impressive for a group of boys. The rest of the semester we didn’t talk much.
Later on, through a series of events, we started to
become really close friends. He left to go home to Kuna, Idaho (Boise area) for
the summer break but that didn’t stop us from talking. We talked and read
scriptures almost every day together. What I really liked about our friendship
was we bonded over difficulties. I was going through some really hard things
that semester and he really helped me through it.
When he got back from summer break, I yelled across the
lawn, “Logan Wagstaff!!” We started running toward each other and embraced in a
movie-worthy hug. It was like magic. I wrapped my legs around him and we twirled
in what seemed like slow motion. Cheesy, right? But it was so cool to be apart
of.
I realized that Logan had lost weight and got a haircut
and that we were really good friends. I was a smitten kitten, and he was too. The
rest was history.
Brother Williams, a marriage counselor, says that the way
your dating relationship goes is how your marriage will go. I have found that
to be true. So what is it about dating that’s so important?
Dating prepares you for your roles as husband and wife.
If you look at what a date should be, it looks like three things 1) paired off,
2) paid for, and 3) planned. Now if you look at the roles of a husband and
father in the Family Proclamation to the world you’ll see that a husband’s role
in the family is to reside, provide, and protect the family unit. There is a
direct correlation between the three things a date looks like and the three
things a father/husband is to do. It’s like the prophets are inspired, right?
A big problem we run into today is that people aren’t
going on dates. They are either dating in exclusive relationships until they no
longer like each other or they are “hanging out.” Hanging out is a big problem
because there is no real commitment to anyone when hanging out is involved.
Plus, they aren’t learning how to do things in the order of 1) being paired
off, 2) having things paid for, and 3) planning activities. All necessary
things when marriage comes into play.
I’m so gratefully my husband and I courted the way we
did. First, we got to know each other and trust each other early on. Then we
started going on dates and became exclusive. Then we got engaged. And finally
we got married based on a strong foundation of mutual respect, love, and prayer
and scripture study. I would highly recommend our dating style to everyone!
Dating and marriage is so important today. I think a lot
of relationships are getting postponed because people simply don’t know how to date.
How are you going to change your dating habits if single? How are you going to
change your dating habits within your marriage if you’re married?
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