Last night, I had a nice dream. In the dream God told me that now I have the privilege of choosing my wife without anyone disturbing me. After I woke up, I felt so happy because now I finally have the chance to think about my sweetheart, my dream lover. And so, I’d like to share with you those things that I care most about.
First, she must be kindhearted. In my opinion, if a person lacks kindness, she will be an evil one. A kindhearted wife will take care of the family well and let me feel very happy. I like to be around kind and honest people and try to be one of them. As a person who will accompany me for the rest of my life, she must be kindhearted.

Second, we must love each other. I can’t imagine what our marriage would be like if we didn’t love each other. If that happens, I will be very, very sad. Nobody is perfect, and although I have a lot of defects, I hope that my wife would accept these and just love me, and then I will be very happy.

Third, I hope she is optimistic. She must have a very charming smile and know how to really enjoy life. Then when we meet difficulties, she must be optimistic and give me support and courage to conquer all these difficulties.

Fourth, having common interests is essential. I can’t bear to see two people who have nothing to talk about. Their silence is painful to watch. If we have common interests, then we can talk about things, and enjoy our conversations. That will be a lot of fun.

Just a few more thoughts. It’s the nature of any man to love a beautiful woman. But she doesn’t have to be beautiful, just attractive in my eyes. If she has finished college, that is enough. She doesn’t need to have a Ph.D. In China today, two incomes are almost essential, so that’s why having a college degree will be best.

When I told God that maybe this is the perfect girl that I have been looking for, He smiled and said kindly, “My son, it is very hard to find a person so perfect. Everyone is a combination of devil and angel, and we must accept the good with the bad.” It was then that I came to realize that marriage is more than passion, it is about responsibility, tolerance, and love.
And so, my wife, my sweetheart, I know that you are waiting for me, I am looking forward to meeting you, and when I do, we will live a very happy life together. Just believe me.

Additional Comments – Like most of my other students, he expressed some wonderful qualities that he was looking for in a future wife. In fact, they are actually biblical qualities. And although my student didn’t know much about God’s nature at that time, He had some understanding of “godly” qualities, and that’s what he wanted to have in his future wife. Kindness, optimism, responsibility, tolerance, and love, are all qualities that each of us, whether married or not, need to have toward one another.

Furthermore, this student had some knowledge that God listens to our prayers and responds at the proper time. He was just laying out his request before God, and then was willing to wait for his “sweetheart” to show up. I’m thinking of King David as he prayed,

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Ps. 5:3)

This is just what my student did. He passionately expressed his requests to God, and then began to wait in anticipation for God to answer. Furthermore, he must have had a strong sense that God had spoken to him about the need for unconditional love, that is, being willing to accept both “the good and the bad” in his future wife. He recognized the need for a love such as this, and I suspect he had a sense that this was the way in which God loves us.

But there was something unique about his “journal entry” which was not found in any of the other entries that I received. Did you notice in his concluding thoughts how he seamlessly moved from “talking to God,” to “talking to her,” the woman of his dreams? It was written in such a way that he believed that she could actually hear him calling for her. Now that’s what I call a passionate cry from the heart, and if you read David’s prayers in the Psalms, that’s just the way in which he prayed.

But wait! That’s not the end of the story, because in just a few more years, he met his “dream girl.” She lived in another province and so they did not have much time to spend together. My student still had another year before he would graduate with his PhD, and so we had lots of time to reminisce about that prayer that he had expressed in his writing. But that’s not all. They are now married and have a beautiful 2-year old daughter. I was privileged to see this former student of mine for just an hour during our last trip to China last month. He is now an assistant professor at a university, and a very happy husband and father.

King David encourages all of us to, “Taste and see that the Lord is good,…” (Ps. 34:8). Just take some time to express your thoughts and desires to Him, just as my student did, and He will prove to you that He is indeed “good.”