Chick Flick Thoughts

Right now, I'm watching "27 Dresses" with Katherine Heigl. It's a cute movie - fluffy with very little substance. I love romantic comedies, so, of course, I adore it. There are few "chick flicks" I don't love, in fact, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! (Hides abashed face behind hands.)

For those of you who haven't seen it, the movie is about a woman who has been a bridesmaid twenty-seven times. Her collection of hideous dresses is astonishing and her compliant attitude almost unbelievable. She is everyone's dream bridesmaid. However, her dream of being a bride is delayed, and she pines over a man who does not return her affection.

In some ways, the plot is startlingly like my own. I'm twenty-five. I love weddings and children, and I desire to get married someday. Yes, I am the stereotypical Christian girl. (Side note: is it weird that I still consider myself a "girl" and not a woman?)

My friends who are my age are all getting married and having children, and it can be challenging to still be single. I identify with Jane's (Katherine Heigl's character) frustration when her younger sister plans to be married before Jane even has the chance. Although none of my sisters are on the wedding track yet (thank goodness, they're all too young), I can imagine that one of them might easily experience matrimonial bliss before I do.

During the rehearsal dinner, Jane is approached by a well-meaning, sympathetic family member. The older woman says to Jane, "It must be so hard to watch your younger sister get married before you."

Jane's reply? "Yes. Then I remember I still get to have hot hate sex with random strangers, and I feel so much better!"

We as the audience laugh at her response. I've felt her anger! I've been lectured by family members about how I need to hang out around the medical students or engineering students in order to "nab" a man. Sometimes it's tempting to lash out, and I know I haven't always been polite about it. But her reply makes me think.

Our culture has made sex so inconsequential. We make flippant comments like that and instantly demean the incredible and sacred gift God created. Yes, God did create sex. He created it as a gift for married couples to share to bring them closer, to provide pleasure, and to bring forth life. Our world has perverted what was once pure and beautiful.

It may be difficult to wait, but I want God's best for my life. Random liaisons with strangers would rob me of God's best, and I'm not willing to give that up! Maybe God's best for me is to never get married. Of course, I hope that is not the outcome, but single Christian women have to be able to think about it. We have to be able to say, "God, I will choose Your best plan for my life, even if it means I relinquish my dreams. I choose to trust my future to Your hands, and I will love You even if it means I never get to see this hope come to fruition."

Hot hate sex is not an option for me.