"How did you know she was the one?" We got this question a lot when we announced our engagement. The short answer I like to give is "She told me she was." No but seriously, while we'd all like the answer to be something romantic and sappy like:
Yep. Shooting darts. Now Hollywood might assassinate me for saying that, but it's the truth and it needs to be said.
This idea of "the one" is a false concept. There is no such thing. Frankly, you could have a successful marriage with almost anyone (anyone who isn't a psychopath, sociopath or serial killer) if you have certain core basics in common and you both are willing to apply the right attitude towards the marriage. Yes, churches like to preach "bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh". but I think it's really just symbolic and that's as far as it goes.
If you're stuck thinking there is some mystical "the one" waiting out there for you to find them, you'll find yourself in a never ending loop of self-doubt, constantly asking yourself "Is she the one?" "is he Mr. right?" "Was it the other person I dated that was Mr. Right?" You'll continue to compose numerous and ever growing lists of the qualities you think "the one" should have and constantly rule out people who fall short (thankfully, my wife had no such list). It's crazy, and I find that most of us post-college adults go through that cycle at some point.
and the women in particular might fall into this trap
Not that men are completely immune to that trap of "waiting" forever for the right one. I have more bachelor uncles than I can count who have crossed the age of 55 and still never found "the one".
Not wanting that to be my situation, and when I got tired of asking myself questions in a loop and never getting the answer I wanted (because people like me are always rethinking our steps), I decided to step out in faith. So I asked God to stop me if I shouldn't move ahead and waited. And waited....and waited some more. I drove my wife crazy with my waiting because as she put it, I was just playing games with her heart (and playing games with her future as she put it).
Funny enough, once I was ready to move ahead, she suddenly got cold feet!
Either way, I didn't marry my wife because she was "the one". I married her for the following reasons:
- Because I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I pictured life without her, and decided I much preferred life with her. I pictured the worst possible scenarios (e.g. death. dismemberment, disability, job loss) and thought about whether I would still want to be with her if such things were to occur.
- Time + Trials + Acceptance + Faith + Choice. After some time together I'd learnt a lot about her. Things you can't learn in just a few months. Time meant that I waited for clarity and Time also meant we went through a few trials and still came out strong. Those trials revealed our personalities to each other. Whether it was family wahala or financial hardship...only time can reveal how people act towards you during those times. Time also meant I learnt acceptance. I accepted the things about her that I liked as well as those annoying things about her that would probably never change (longer blog post on that later). I exercised my faith that God was in control of our future and then I made a choice to love her for the rest of my life. It was a conscious choice and one I have to remake every morning, when I wake up next to her. That was the last step, making the choice
- You will have some days where you question your decision. Doubt will always be there. You'll ask yourself "Should I have gotten married?" "Should I have even dated her?" "Will this last?"
- You will never know the definite answer to your question. It's kind of like asking "Is there a God?" You can be as confident as you want to be, but you only find out the answer in the end. Until then, you pray and have faith that you made the right choice to believe in a God. Same goes with marriage. You trust and believe and have faith that this is the person for you, and you strive to make sure it works with the person you chose, but you won't know if it will last until it does.
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I am Naija Husband otherwise known as NH. Look out for more posts from me, and also check out my blog - naijahusband.wordpress.com
Who believes this?
ReplyDeleteWho doubts?
Surprise, surprise
Anyway I have no comments.
I believe in the one, and I'm still waiting for mine. I pray he finds me soon.
ReplyDeleteI too do not believe in "the one". I figure if there are at least 3 billion men on the planet it is quite plausible that you would easily be completely compatible with at least 1 million of them, and 1 million may even be a conservative estimate. Obviously, the 1 million is spread out in different countries and cultures and it would be up to the person to decide if they wanted to date out of their own culture, but there are hundreds of thousands, if not tens of millions of compatible people out there that you could have a fulfilling relationship with at any one time.
ReplyDeleteMe, I don't know o. Only God does.
ReplyDeleteI used to believe in the one very strongly but now I think I kind of believe in it but not as strongly.
ReplyDeleteI believe there will be THIS ONE person that I will meet and decide to make THE ONE. I used to believe that when God made some man a couple years before my birth he decided to wait a while and then make me. 'Me' being the man's soulmate.
Do I still believe that? Uh maybe. But I'm not going to be second guessing myself like 'are you the one?' 'are you my missing rib?' 'are we souls of souls and bones of bones?' lol nah