Yesterday at church our high councilor, after completing the stake business, started talking about a couple from our branch who got married on Friday. One of the phrases he used when talking about how they essentially found each other was, “… in the right place at the right time.” He then went on to say that if we followed that counsel we would find our eternal companion, too. Inwardly I rolled my eyes and thought, “Tell that to a faithful 27-year-old single female.”

Not gonna lie – over the years I’ve gotten pretty tired of hearing that saying when it comes to marriage (and we hear it quite a bit in YSA meetings). It’s frustrating at times when you fulfill your callings, go to church every Sunday, attend the temple, and try to be as righteous as possible, yet people younger than you get married and you’re left sitting in the pews.

Just an hour later in Sunday School we learned about the story of Rebekah marrying Isaac. Just a brief recap: Abraham sent his servant to his (Abraham’s) kinsmen to find a wife for his son Isaac. While we were reading and discussing this chapter, a new perspective hit me.

In Genesis 24 the story is mainly told from the viewpoint of Abraham’s servant. We read about how the servant prayed to find the right woman for Issac and how he waited at the well during a time of day when the women of the city would gather water. Because of the nature that most stories in the Bible are told, we’re not exactly sure how long the servant actually waited at the well. It could have been a few days, but from the way the story is told it sounds like the first day he was at the well he met Rebekah. In some ways it looks like the servant didn’t have to work very hard to be “in the right place at the right time.” We actually had a pretty great discussion about how the servant, in fact, had a plan to find a wife for Isaac. I have no doubt that on this servant’s long journey to Abraham’s kinsmen that he pondered how he’d accomplish this task. Perhaps he went through several ideas until he settled on going to the well as his best bet. Not only that, this servant offered up a very specific prayer in order to know who the right woman would be to marry Isaac. He didn’t go running after the first female he saw. He knew the qualities and characteristics of the woman who would be a good match for Isaac and he stuck to that.

But let’s focus on Rebekah. That’s where my new perspective hit.

I’m no scholar on the Bible, so I don’t know exactly how old Rebekah was when she married Isaac. She was probably a teenager. But, again, we don’t know Rebekah’s exact age. I began wondering, “How long did Rebekah have to wait?”

Yes, Rebekah was in the right place at the right time. But thing of it is that it wasn’t just happenstance that we was at the well. Fetching water was one of Rebekah’s household chores. How many years did she make that trip to the well? How times did she travel down that familiar path?

Rebekah was more than righteous and obedient in a spiritual sense. She was consistent in every aspect of her life. Yes, she obeyed and honored her parents by doing one of her chores, but she did it every day while she was able. Of course there were times she was ill and other days when she was running late. There were probably evenings when she rolled her eyes and grumbled, “I really hate this. The water pitcher gets so heavy. Why is this my responsibility?” Nevertheless, she did it, day after month after year until it paid off.

I’m not trying to say Rebekah was perfect. She wasn’t. We aren’t, either. But the fact of the matter is that she kept doing the right thing.

How long will some of us singles have to wait? I don’t know. But this story helped to alleviate some of the heartache I felt. Rebekah was blessed immensely because of her righteousness, faith, and consistency. I know that if I am the same way the Lord cannot withhold blessings from me, either – no matter how long it may take.