"A wife of noble character who can find?..."

..."She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised!" -Proverbs 31

So a couple years ago my brother gave me the "Becoming Esther" article by Paul Washer. We read it together back then and I recently came across it again. Reading it now that I am older, it really makes a lot of sense to me. Esther is one of my favorite bible characters. She was beautiful inside and out and her courage set her apart. Esther had to go through a long process of cultivation. Before she could be queen, she prepared herself spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. Esther did not sit around like many of the other women who were fighting for the crown, but rather she used her time as a single woman to pursue the Lord and let Him work on her heart.

"Singleness is not a waste of time or a sitting on the sidelines, but a time that God has set aside especially for the woman, to make her into what He wants her to be, and to use her in ways that just might be impossible after marriage. Singleness is a time in which a woman is to cultivate the virtues that pertain to being a woman of God, so that she can offer her future husband and the world something more than just a pretty face."

Wow!!! Is that not a beautiful picture! This gets me so fired up...I want all single women to know that right now is the time to step out on faith and run hard after God! We must live in the here and now and let the Lord prepare us for the great work he is going to do in us. The Lord longs for a beautiful relationship with us and He wants to be our first love. The Lord wants to show us how to be a woman of God so that one day we can be a godly wife and mother. If we take advantage of this time now, I believe that the Lord is going to take us to new heights. I believe that if we let Him have our hearts then He is going to show us a marriage that goes all the way and one that thrives and is on FIRE.

"Remember in your singleness that you are not the only one single, but your future husband is passing through the same stage as you. Would it not be a terrible thing to finally meet the man who is to become your husband only to find out that he has used his singleness to serve God and to prepare himself to be a better husband for you. And yet you did not use the freedom of your singleness to serve the Lord, nor did you take advantage of the training that God offered you? Would it not also be a terrible thing to realize that your husband spent his days as a single man praying daily for your needs and the work of God in your life, while you neither prayed for him, nor responded to the grace of God that was given you as a result of his prayers."

This really hit me and really kind of scares me when I think of all the time I have wasted and the mistakes I made in the past. I know that the day that I walk down the aisle to my future husband, I want to present myself to him fully equipped. I want him to know that I prepared my heart and cultivated my character so that when joining with him, we would carry on God's will in a marriage. I know that in preparing myself for that now, I am preparing for a marriage that is completely and undeniably thriving.

Lord, cultivate in me a beautiful heart for you. Teach me your ways and help me to use my time in a way that honors you and brings you all the glory. I pray that you would continue showing women their roles and their calling and create in every woman a heart that is on fire for you.