God has blessed me richly with a wonderful wife and great examples of lasting marriages within my family. Also, being married gives me some insight on the transition from being single to being married. On a forum that I frequent someone asked the question "What do you do when it seems clear that it just isn't going to happen?" ... My response was as follows

This advice may sound harsh but you have to get comfortable with a few ideas about being single and being married. From a now happily married, ex-happily single person, let me tell you what helped me, and in hindsight, would have helped me even more.

First, being single is a gift. (see 1 Cor 7).. This idea permeates Church history and is evident in its teachings on the virtue of chastity. One of the early fathers even went so far as to say that marriage is wonderful in that it produces virgins. These days we have a tendency to not see the single life for the gift it is because everything in our culture tries to tell us that being married and living happily ever after is a special rite of passage that should happen to everyone.

Second, being married doesn't solve all of your problems and it is not a magic time of life that brings nothing but joy and happiness. (for example, I am sitting up at 4 am with my daughter falling back to sleep in my lap... cute yes ...but not always fun... ) ... Don't get me wrong. I gush about how wonderful marriage is all the time but it is a vocation. It takes hard work and great sacrifice to make it joyful. Too many people in this day and age want to think of marriage as enhanced singleness with all of its freedoms and the added bonus of someone to come home to. Treating marriage that way is setting it up for big problems. Once you get married you GIVE UP being single. I had to learn this lesson the hard way so I am telling you now, cherish the advantages while you have them.

Third, the most important relationship you have is with Christ. Maximize this time with Him and become comfortable with the idea that He is all you need, because He is. Go to daily mass. Pray more. Learn more about the faith. Serve at the local soup kitchen a few extra hours a week. This is a special time in your life with Him. Live it up.

I know of a guy who derives great unnecessary misery from this idea he has that marriage is going to fill some void in his life. What he doesn't understand is that void needs to be filled before he is ready to find a wife. My wife and I both met each other after we came to the solid conclusion that if God had us be single, we would be OK with it. You would be shocked how many married folks we know that tell us the same thing. The plan needs to be His not ours and His timing is not always as soon as we would like.

The thread continued ... as will these posts in the next few days. Stay tuned.