I'm still waiting.

Every once in awhile I see a friend post the "I don't wait anymore." blog on Facebook. It was actually written almost two years ago, but still gets plenty of traction. The blogger starts…

When I was 16, I got a purity ring. And when I was 25, I took it off. I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it — it wasn’t a statement or an emotional thing. I just slipped it off my finger that day and, before tucking it away in a box, ran my finger around the words on the familiar gold band. “True Love Waits.” Waits. What’s it “waiting” for, anyway?  

Her story always grabs my attention even though I feel like I've read it countless times. It catches my eye because I have my own "purity ring." I got mine when I was 18, but I didn't wear it much when I was in college. At some point I put it back on. It looks like a wedding band, and it attracts a lot of questions. People usually ask if I'm married and I usually get embarrassed trying to explain what it means or why I wear it. I feel like wearing it on my middle finger of my right hand should be a big enough hint that I'm not married, but people still ask.

The story strikes me because it always makes me question my own motives. What am I waiting for? What's the point of the ring? And when the paranoia really sets in… Is the ring keeping me from getting married?  The blogger took off her ring to make a point that she wasn't going to sit around and wait to start her life when she got married. The blog ends…

I lived like I was waiting for something.
And that’s why I slipped off my ring that day. It wasn’t that I wanted to sleep with people – I haven’t. It wasn’t a slap to True Love Waits, or to anyone who wears a purity ring – saving sex for marriage is good and is His design.
I just didn’t want to wait anymore – didn’t want to live like I was waiting on anyone to get here.
I already have Him … and He is everything. 

I can definitely understand her sentiment and I don't write this as a way to slap anyone who takes off their purity ring. I don't want to waste my life waiting for a man, but my ring doesn't mean True Love Waits for a Husband. My ring just means True Love Waits for a Husband Before Having Sex. 

There have been plenty of times that I think about taking it off again… whenever I re-read the chick's blog for starters! There have been plenty of moments I've wanted to throw the ring away and chuck my commitment right along with it. I don't want my "waiting" to just be another legalistic ritual to prove a point. I don't want my "waiting" to keep me from living. I don't want a ring to define me. 

But I've decided I'm still waiting… not to start living… not to find a husband (although that would be nice)… but I'm waiting to have sex. And I can wear a ring to remind me of my commitment without letting it define me. 

For now… I might change my mind the next time I read the blog.