Have You Kissed Dating Good-bye?

[Patrina M Wright]

According to a recent national survey by researchers at Rutgers University, 94 percent of singles stated that they want to marry their soul mate. However, many of them acknowledged a lack of confidence in being able to achieve this goal. Below are two stories from individuals who obviously followed their hearts, but forgot to consult their head in their relationships.

Listen to Marks’ story, he’s thirty-eight, and at the end of a three-year relationship:

I felt sorry for Jenell the first time we talked. She was going through a divorce from a real jerk who cheated on her. I wondered how any guy could do something like that to her; she was so beautiful and nice. She told me she had never been treated or loved in the ways that I took care of her. When I heard about her screwed-up family, I realized why she seemed to feel so “at home” with jerks. It felt great to give her love, something she said she really never had. Around the fourth month of dating, however, Jenell became moody and picked fights with me, as if she wanted to be mad. I kept trying to make things better, and they were, for a while, but then she would go back into her shell. I should not have stayed with her so long. Why do I always get into the relationships where I am the giver?

Now, let’s listen to Tasha, twenty-eight, at the end of a five-year relationship:

The thing that impressed me most when I met Duane (thirty-one) was that he was so good with my six-year old son. He always talked to him, horsed around and played with him, and would even bring him surprises when he came to my apartment to see me. Being a single mother, I easily fell in love with the father my son never had. I was bothered by the way Duane became harsh sometimes with me, but I wrote if off as just a bad mood. And anyway, you’ve got to take the bad with the good. We married on our first anniversary of going out, but from that time on he was never the same. He had frequent rages and treated me just like his father had treated his mother. I never thought he would act like that; he had been so different before we married. How do I miss the signs of what he was going to be like in marriage?
I
s there really a way to follow your heart and include your head when it comes down to relationships? Yes, there is.
I teach a singles class which is comprised of both male and female with ages ranging from 22 to 70 something.

Last month our discussion was fun, thought provoking and interactive. Everyone brought a unique perspective to the table. Not only did everyone agree that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results, we confessed that we really don’t know as much as we need to know about dating and relationships?

Grant it, we’ve all dated before, right? But that doesn’t mean that we knew what we were doing. If the truth be told like the sad cases with Marc and Tasha many of us had no clue about dating. And at times we chose people for all the wrong reasons. But does that mean that we have to kiss dating good-bye? No, it does not. It just means that single adults who desire marriage need to be exposed to the kind of information that can help them establish the foundation for healthy, balanced relationships which could potentially lead to a fulfilling marriage.

With pen and paper in hand some of questions we answered and discussed ranged from Do you enjoy being single? How have you chosen the people you’ve dated in the past? Would you do it that same way today? On a scale of 1 to 10 do you feel that you are prepared for marriage? to How would you know if you are ready to date? The answers were very interesting. And while we haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg, everyone went away excited and looking forward to coming together again next month.

[Patrina M Wright]

God's redemption is one of the most beautiful things about the Lord. There is no one quite like Him. No one who can begin to compare. Whatever has been lost or stolen from you, God will restore it in ways that you can't even imagine. He will take all the broken and missing pieces of your life and make something beautiful out of it. He will take your shattered dreams and give them new life. He's God like that. You are a beautiful woman of God. Stay very close to Him. Embrace His love for you. Hold on tightly to Him and never let Him go. And I promise you He will totally restore, repair, rebuild, recover, and redeem your soul and your life. God bless you. Let's stay connected, uplifted and encouraged by each other.

[cuttie22]

i also come from abuse,from my mother cursing me out until i was an adult,to marrying my first husband who molested my first born daugther,to waitnig24years long to remarry the same kind of man again,he wasent a molester but he curse me every day after we mairred,i had only knew him 2months before we mairred,and yes i saw some bad behavior in him,but i wanted a husband so bad,and he gave me things i didnt have like 100.00 shoes,dinner for 100.00 oh yes he wine and dine me,butttttttttttt! after mairrage the real demon in him came out.well it,s so much hell i have had in my life,i could not write it all down,but i serve a god who shows me love i never had before.god nless u take care.

[Prophetess L. Crim]

Thank you woman of God for that infromation,it made me think, I also question myself.We need to talk about getting together and doing a conference for single women.