Every girl in the eighth grade had "the list." And if you were ever an eighth grade girl you know exactly what list I'm talking about. The list that allowed you to dream up the perfect guy even though he may not have ever existed. Some lists may have looked a little like this:

1. Tall (enough for me to wear heels and still be short)
2. Funny
3. Handsome
4. Probably Rich
5. Smart
6. Plays a musical instrument of some sort (so he can serenade you of course)
7. Maybe even a striking resemblance to Troy Bolton

and the list goes on and on. But sadly as you get older you learn to understand that the list your eighth grade self conjured up is kind of impossible to find. As far as it comes to finding a genuine guy it's pretty slim pickings, and as a recently single girl like myself, I know see the very few options we have out there. (No offense to the guy population out there, but step up your game come on.) I started out on a mission this summer, that since I was now single and had plenty of time on my hands, I was going to be spending more time with the other Man in my life, Jesus. You see, in my past relationship I was head over heels. It was the kind of relationship where we were planning our whole future around each other, getting married with three kids kind of relationship. But turns out, I was wrong. Now, this isn't a story of my past relationship, but more of a story of my future relationship and how I can use my experience to help other girls out there that know what I'm feeling. At the beginning of the summer I sat down with the sole purpose of discovering who God is and what love truly is. Because trust me it does not matter how many 19 year-old girls in relationships you talk too, our understanding of love is so small compared to this. The problem with our generation is that we truly don't know how to love… I like to think that it's because we don't know what the purest form of love looks like. So, tell me, how are we to love one another if we do not know what the purest form of love looks like? Well, in order to know that we have to know who God truly is, and here's what I found…

1. HE is faithful… 1 Corinthians 10: 13
2. HE is light … 1 John 1:5
3. HE is patient … 2 Peter 3:9
4. HE is love … John 3:16
5. HE is generous … James 1:17
6. HE is caring … Matthew 6:26
7. HE is compassionate … Psalm 116:5
8. HE is understanding … Revelation 21:3

Now, the list can keep on going, but this gives you the idea. As I was writing these words… words describing how precious and priceless our God is… I realize that there is never going to be there "Perfect" guy. Bringing that list you made in eighth grade back up, if you were to make one today, what would it say? Now, keeping that in mind, this list of nearly impossible expectations will likely never be met ( I know i'm sorry i'm a little harsh.) But something that i've realized is that you're not going to find the PERFECT guy, and just a little FYI you don't need one. You just have to find a Man that accepts the fact that he will always be #2 behind Jesus in your heart. And you know what you don't need to find a Man that only accepts it… but e m b r a c e s it.* Yes I spaced out that whole word for a dramatic flare so pay close attention.* Finding someone that doesn't only nod along with your relationship with God, but fully embraces that relationship will be the man that will fully embrace you. That man one day will love you like no other because he knows what it's like to be loved when you don't really deserve it. The Man that embraces your relationship with Jesus, while still having his own relationship with Him, is a Man after God's own heart; and that is the Man that you need to hold on to. And he not only embraces your relationship with Christ, but you embrace his relationship with Christ, because learning, knowing, and seeing what the purest form of love is, is the first step in him loving you as Christ loves you. So ladies, abandon the list you made in eighth grade because even though we all would love to believe that our Troy Bolton is out there, a much much better Man has great plans for your future.