I always wanted to fall in love and be married, I just assumed it would happen by "magic". I wasn't in a rush because we think we're going to live forever. So, I didn't mind casual dating. I was just waiting for the whammy. You know... about being In Love or finding The One, they say, "You'll know". Good stuff...
That is how I felt exactly! Except in my case, I spent my teens and 20's (and most of my 30's) thinking that casual dating was a mortal sin.
. But I was definitely holding out for the magic and expecting some sort of "whammy". Then when it came (the "love at first sight" instance I mentioned), it was so intense it scared me and I could barely eeke out a "hi" before fleeing at my first opportunity. And Jesus probly threw up His arms like "Make up your mind, woman....... I don't know what you want from me!!!"
I never did the official "courting" thing. But like you said, I think you'd have to have some very informative contact with someone before you'd know if a long process of courting is worthwhile. Maybe the idea is, if you're attracted to them and their a christian, that's enough? ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
I've heard many say that attraction isn't even a necessary ingrediant.... as long as they are a Christian you should be able to learn to love them and make them your "person". Maybe it worked ok for some, but I always seemed to need something much more specific.
I don't think anyone would want you to push away a "good guy" if you're open to finding love, and it's not against God's will for you. I think we have a beneficial conversation here; we don't want to be too vague. If you don't mind, what do you mean by "pushing the good guy away"? What does that look like for you?
I THINK I'm open to finding love and I have not been told by God personally that it's against His will (though kudos for acknowledging that could be the case!
), but I'm also aware that God would have to be in it for a guy to push past my walls and barriers and hangups. And I have achieved a decent amount of peace with the thought of staying single. So I don't know. God likes to keep me in the dark until the last minute I think lol.
Regarding what I mean by "pushing away"..... well, guys are all different so I tailor it to them as individuals
.
The sweet friend in my teens & 20's who wasn't good at expressing feelings but mustered the gumption to ask me out every year or so, I would just politely decline each time. I never had an actual conversation with him about it, which is one of my greatest regrets.
My goofy friend who gives great advice and helps me logic out issues and problems, I make sure to occasionally tease him about other girls and give him advice on how to ask them out (our dynamic is based off of mutual torment. It's a VERY long story.
)
Others I have flat-out avoided, particularly those I feel suddenly drawn to like the "love at first sight" guy.
My longest and closest relationship I tried to push him away too, he was a very "upfront" kind of person so I just told him honestly that I didn't think it was worth the cost, my issues would get in the way and I had no desire to hurt him. But he said it was worth the risk to find out, and assured me that he would be ok. Sooooo...we spent the time to find out. It was a journey, and I have always been more of a journey person than a destination person. The destination did not turn out to be marriage but he was and is a great guy and I will be forever grateful for his patience and loyalty.
I like how you think, Snackermom! You'd be a fine social scientist and therapist. Sounds like a lot of work, but that might actually be fun, and hilarious LOL. If peeps would actually create fake profiles, I guess there would have to be some agreement on what "self-destructive tendencies" are. Maybe we could work on the idea a little first. I'd love to hear you give it a shot. I don't think you'd find my criteria or process unique... but maybe you could be helpful by using your knowledge, experience, instinct, etc and speak on what some of those "patterns of self-destructive tendencies" might be, for me or lots of men?
Ha, thanks...one of my nic-names in college was "the therapist"...... which is funny considering that I was a horticulture major
. I'm fascinated by the reasons behind the things we do, how our pasts and experiences can mold us into something good, or something we don't like or recognize. Good thing we know The Great Potter who can set us aright when that happens!
Anyway.....if you are open to a guess, I don't know you very well but I would expect that women with issues are naturally drawn to you; you're a good listener, observant and insightful and you're probably good at making people feel "seen" (maybe for the first time in a long time for some). There's nothing wrong with dating someone with issues (We all have them to some extent!), but if they aren't actively working on them and trying to figure out what's a Godly boundary versus what's a trauma response, they're not going to be a good partner for you. I remember when you posted in my "Fear of Attraction" thread, you mentioned having (in the past) some avoidance tendencies (actually, what you described hit home the closest for me as far as explaining how I felt). Is it possible that, since you are (or have been in the past) holding out for the "whammy", then absent the whammy you are subconsciously more comfortable with the ladies who have an attachment disorder or hangup of some sort?
Just thoughts! As I said previously, I could be dreadfully off the mark but that was just what came to mind. Hope it was at least vaguely helpful lol......likely there's multiple things at work but that could be a small piece of the puzzle
.
I appreciate your insight and observations, your questions have really made me think...sorry this ended up so long though!