Girlfriend and I + Thoughts of Marriage

[Navigator]

First off, to those who do not know of me or my situation, I'll provide a little background information. I am 20 years old (21 in March); my girlfriend of 5 months now is 21 years old. We've had our rough patches in our relationship, some growing pains together, but all in all we both really love being with each other and there is very little conflict between us.

Now our short time together is misleading because we actually went to the same elementary/middle/high school and were friends in high school. We now go to the same college and have stayed in touch our first 3 years. I am the rookie of the relationship haha. I actually have not been in a relationship yet, but she has been in 4. She's said from the beginning that her feelings for me are different than all her other boyfriends including her most recent BF whom she was with for 3+ years. I feel really close to her, and can't stand it when I'm not around her, but I don't know if it's just me having some infatuation or something deeper. For those who have gone through this, and may be married...how did you know that your girl/boy was "the one"??

I'm not saying I wanting or ready to get married right now to this girl, but I have thought about it...

 

[grovenored]

Good questions.
Knowing when someone is the one is often the result of a continual stream of prayer and answer with God. I was dating my relatively-soon-to-be wife for about 8 months before we officially became a couple, and all that time I was waiting for God to give me the green light, because he was working on both of us to get us ready.
As an afterthought - how is her prayer life? What's God saying to her about it all? Praying with her may well help a lot.
Often, rushing into things can be trying to rush God, who has His own plans for you and your relationships. Being in prayerful readiness is the greatest start to a relationship you can have.
I understand you're already a couple, and that's cool, but now the prayerful readiness shifts from "is she the girl to date" to "is she the girl you want me to marry?".
I would say after 5 months, having known her so long, it is possible to feel certain she's the one (I know I did with Sam, and we had the same background as you guys - we were at school together, though I hardly knew her) but it's God who will give the green light on it.
Pray on it, get some silence and solitude, and see what Jesus is saying.
I hope that helps.
Also, if you want, check out this Dating series as it might help you out.
God bless.

 

[Navigator]

Good questions.
Knowing when someone is the one is often the result of a continual stream of prayer and answer with God. I was dating my relatively-soon-to-be wife for about 8 months before we officially became a couple, and all that time I was waiting for God to give me the green light, because he was working on both of us to get us ready.
As an afterthought - how is her prayer life? What's God saying to her about it all? Praying with her may well help a lot.
Often, rushing into things can be trying to rush God, who has His own plans for you and your relationships. Being in prayerful readiness is the greatest start to a relationship you can have.
I understand you're already a couple, and that's cool, but now the prayerful readiness shifts from "is she the girl to date" to "is she the girl you want me to marry?".
I would say after 5 months, having known her so long, it is possible to feel certain she's the one (I know I did with Sam, and we had the same background as you guys - we were at school together, though I hardly knew her) but it's God who will give the green light on it.
Pray on it, get some silence and solitude, and see what Jesus is saying.
I hope that helps.
Also, if you want, check out this Dating series as it might help you out.
God bless.

Thank you a lot for your response!

Throughout my life, I can't think of a time when I actually HAVE HEARD God as many on here have said. I don't know if that means I'm not trying enough or not close enough to God or what...but I don't think I've ever actually heard God. What I have experienced, though, are "phenomena" you could say, that happen exactly when I need them, which I take to be God guiding me along. My girlfriend was always there in my life, as I explained. We went through our entire schooling together, but we either didn't know each other well enough, or when we did become friends, she was always dating another guy. She went to the same college as me (I feel God was keeping her in my life for a reason), and finally I got my chance to date her at the beginning of this school year.

She has said to me that she has never been happier, and it shows; we rarely fight, but when we do whatever is being fought about gets worked out by the end. I am very happy myself. She is my first girlfriend and I have absolutely no desire to go out and explore other options or anything like that. I WANT to be with her.

We had a rough patch early on when she felt she wasn't able to live the "college life" because of her dating her ex and then me while in college; but I prayed throughout that time, asked God to help her find her way back to me so I could help her and she did! And since then, everything has been great and she has said she no longer has those feelings she did. I've confessed to her some of my issues and she is really helping me with those, so it's just great. I'll continue to pray and reflect, because I AM normally a cautious person, so I do not want to rush anything. I guess I'm just seeing how great things are, how happy we both are and I'm jumping to the conclusion that marriage is a possibility.