At the heart of waiting till marriage is a yearning for greater meaning in all things, most of all marriage.

This end-goal of a more meaningful marriage will trickle down into the friendship/dating relationships you have leading up to marriage as well. People who wait till marriage tend to prioritize meaningfulness in all relationships much more than other people.

One night stands, casual flings, superficial friendships — these will be entirely foreign (and appalling) concepts to you. You pursue closeness and meaning in every relationship you have — platonic or otherwise. Now, this doesn’t mean that you will get deep meaning out of every relationship…just that you will try to get it. You will rarely be comfortable with a friendship or a dating relationship in which you don’t get to know the person very well.

You will pull the maximum potential out of every relationship. Sometimes that won’t amount to much. Sometimes it will amount to everything.

And that’s the good news: when you shoot for depth and meaning, you will frequently get it. Or you will move on until you do. Yours will be a life shared with the many wonderful people you’ve come to love — one most of all.