This is a guest post by Whitney Pendell. Whitney blogs at Come Home For Comfort where she shares about her faith, marriage, organization and frugal living – all the things that bring comfort to her home. She shares her home with her husband of almost six years and their two very spoiled cats.
When I was in college, there were certain girls who people joked were only in school to obtain an “MRS” degree. It was usually girls who chose a major like Family and Consumer Science or something in the school of Religion. I am not sure how successful their supposed strategy turned out to be, but I think we can all agree that most girls have marriage at the top of their life goals!
Marriage is an honorable goal – God created it! There are those who, in God’s perfect plan, are called to a life of singleness – but most of us will find that MRS degree somewhere along the path of God’s will for our lives. What should you do if you desire to be married but haven’t seen an answer to your prayer? I believe you can (and should!) begin preparing yourself to be a godly wife long before you meet the man of your dreams.
#1 Create Good Housekeeping Habits
Whether you live alone or with a roommate, you can establish good housekeeping habits.
Find a weekly cleaning routine that works for your schedule and keep up with the daily chores as well – putting laundry away, washing dishes after a meal and leaving a room neater than you found it.
Learn to cook – and if you already know how to cook, master the art of having all the components of a meal ready at the same time.
Make a weekly menu plan and grocery list – you might only need to fix two meals for yourself during a normal week, but getting in the habit of shopping and menu planning will be so beneficial!
Host people in your home – whether you plan a monthly supper club with your girlfriends or invite a married couple for Sunday dinner, entertaining is an invaluable skill and great for impressing future in-laws! 🙂
The woman of Proverbs 31 is described as someone who looks well to the ways of her household and is not idle. Good housekeeping habits will benefit your personal life no matter how long you remain single, and will certainly make life a lot easier when you are married.
#2 Study Godly Wives
Getting married doesn’t magically make you a good wife. It actually has a funny way of revealing all your annoying habits and idiosyncrasies! In order to be a godly wife, you have to know what that looks like. Study the women around you who model the kind of wife you desire to be. Don’t spend all your time with single people – ask a married lady you admire to mentor you. Read blogs and books on marriage. Study the book of Proverbs and look for each time the word woman or wife is mentioned. There is such great wisdom (and warning) found through the women of Proverbs!
#3 Enjoy Being Single
When I graduated from college, I was as single as the day is long. I had no prospects – not even a crush! So I decided to enjoy the perks of being single, knowing that those years would probably be the ones where I had the most money, energy, and free time. I worked a lot, volunteered at church in everything from choir to missions trips, attended concerts and sporting events, shopped for hours with my girlfriends, visited family, ate out for lunch and supper whenever I wanted, and had so much fun.
If you’ve been single for ten years or more, you might be past the stage of life where all of that is appealing. My advice to you now? Look for things you can enjoy about being single. This exercise is beneficial in every stage of life. Learn how to enjoy your current stage of life and you’ll be better off no matter what!
#4 Be Confident That God Is Enough
I’m not saying, “Be confident that God is enough because you might never get married and you’ll be all alone.” Nope. Not at all. The biggest struggle I’ve faced in married life is learning that my husband is not supposed to meet all of my needs. As a Christian, my hope and expectation is in God. If you can learn that now you will save yourself so much frustration and heartache! It can be easy to default to your husband as the strength, provider, listening ear, compassionate heart and source of all love and security. He might be willing to be those things for you, but he is human and he will fail you! God doesn’t fail. He will be all of those things for you, no matter if you’re a Miss or a Mrs.!