I had some good friends move to Sweden at the beginning of this week, so naturally, I’ve been exposed to a lot of depressing status updates about moving and goodbyes. But Wednesday, I finally saw a status from this friend that made me laugh rather than want to cry:

“I’d definitely be lying if I said Stockholm wasn’t crawling with cute boys…”

I know what you’re thinking, and I, too, have heard that the weather in Sweden in really nice this time of year… but before you pack your bags and jump on the next available flight, humor me for a second and ask yourself why you’re even contemplating moving halfway across the globe.

Why do we think we have to put ourselves in a position that will get us noticed? A place where we can’t be missed? Why do we feel the need to throw our entire heart and soul into finding that one, special person?

I know that the guy you are going to live out the rest of your life alongside is kind of a big deal, so I understand the anxiety; I’ve experienced it myself. It’s hard to live your life trusting that God is going to take care of everything in due time. So we take fate into our own hands and try to arrange a divine connection. And God sits in heaven laughing at our silly game of make-believe.

Because as much as we want to be God, we aren’t. And as much as we want to force things, we can’t.

It’s normal to want to find Mr. Right (even to the point of obsession, sadly), therefore it’s normal to want to put yourself in a position that might arrange a chance meeting between you and your future husband, but we can’t let that become the focus of our lives. We can’t let our desire for marriage be the force that drives us.

If I’m going to put myself in any kind of position, I want it to be the position of obedience. If I’m going to move halfway around the world, I’m going to do it because God called me there; not because it’s a great place to meet guys. (Which I guess I sort of did since my call to missions led me 450 miles from the middle-of-nowhere-Ohio to a thriving, college town. I didn’t do it on purpose – honest!)

There will always be that place in your heart that desires to be filled by a guy, but more importantly, there will always be a call on your life that yearns to be fulfilled by the One who shapes dreams into reality. And that, my friend, is something is something you can’t afford to miss.

THINK ABOUT IT: What position have you been putting yourself in lately? The position that gets you noticed by man, or the position that makes God beam with pride?