I read this blog tonight: "While marriage is good, He is the greater goal." I remember making a pledge of purity, to "wait" for my husband. But I fell into a trap of "waiting" for my husband and not living in the now, not understanding that if I never married, He would be enough. Always. I'm blessed beyond belief with an incredible husband. I recently referred to him as the "Jamie Whisperer." He brings calm and peace to my otherwise chaotic mind. He understands the way I think, understands who I am, and because of that, he can effectively communicate with me. It doesn't happen all the time (because no marriage is perfect) but he's pretty darn good at it. That being said, even though I have an amazing, adoring, and amazingly adoring husband, he does not complete me. And he never will. This isn't because of some flaw in our marriage. It's because he wasn't designed to bring me utter completion. Only He is meant for that. Only He can sustain and complete me when others fail. As cliche as this is, there IS a God-shaped hole in all of us and guess what? Only God (Jesus Christ) can fill it. Because I'm married, it's probably easier for me to say this but because I'm married, I can testify that it's true: marriage is not the answer...to anything. Happiness, longing, loneliness...all of these happen outside of marriage, and all of these things happen inside of marriage. In fact, unless you have a Biblical view of marriage, you will probably feel even more lonely IN your marriage than you would be if you remained single. It's because in the Christian culture, we've preset our minds to think that once we're married, all our desires (sexual and otherwise) will be met. That isn't true. Just because you have someone to sleep with, doesn't mean your desires will be met. That's why it's important to have a Biblical view of marriage, to understand that your spouse is not the end-all cure to your long list of woes and "needs." I believe it's imperative to understand who you are in Christ, that with or without a spouse, you ARE complete in Him. You can't look to a husband or wife to fulfill your deepest needs. Only Christ has that capability. He will fulfill your needs and He will never leave you lacking or feeling unsatisfied. I have to remember this in my marriage too. It's easy to depend too much on my husband. It's a good thing to depend on your spouse, but when I depend too much on my husband to make me happy...I just end up unhappier and he ends up discouraged.