Hi...I could use prayer and advice. It involves my longtime Christian best friend, Esther. We met when I was 13 and she was 12, and we've been very close ever since, and I also eventually developed a close friendship with her older brother, Tim. Fast forward several years, and here we are. This past year has been hard, starting with their father passing away from brain cancer, and then Esther herself being saved from death only by a blood transfusion the week right after his death. To make a long story short, about nine months ago, Tim approached me and told me he's felt for a long time that I'm meant to be his future wife. I told him that I had felt the same about him. However, Esther strongly opposes this. She feels betrayed, saying that she feels as though I never cared about her all these years...that I only cared for Tim, and I used her to get to him. I was shocked, and even more so when my friendship with her, which I was sure nothing could shake, disintegrated. Tim and I were disappointed when we first realized her disagreement with us, but continued planning to get engaged and eventually married, and he bought an engagement ring in preparation to ask my Dad for my hand when the time was right. We even met with the Pastor of our church for counseling. Then last week, Esther and I talked and she said she will never be comfortable with this. She told me that she loves me and wants to be my friend, but I have to choose between her and Tim, and if I chose him, there will always be a barrier between us. She feels he is not right for me and that we don’t want to get married for the right reasons. Not knowing what to do, but loving both too much to choose one over the other, I told Tim I thought we should just stop talking marriage for awhile and go back to treating each other as friends, in hopes that this will eventually sort out and Esther will be able to understand/handle the idea of us getting married. I felt that the only thing to do was to choose neither of them and just step back, give it time and put them on the altar as Abraham did with his dear son Isaac. I'm not sure where to go from here, but I want to do the right thing, the thing that will most glorify God, but I'm just not sure what that is at this point, which is why I just hit the pause button. I need a miracle, please pray for one…I don't want to lose my friendship with Esther, but I also want to be with Tim. What are your thoughts?

Hi. I want you to know I am an older mature Christian lady and feel concern for you. I want you to know I will definitely pray for our Lord's guidance and direction for you. Your decision to wait for now may be a good one. I don't propose to have clear-cut answers for you, but I can share some truths. If this marriage is "of the Lord" waiting for a time should not hurt anything.
If your friend has a known reputation for following after God's ways and is serving God to the best of her ability, then it may be good to ask her why she thinks her brother is not the right person for you.
If your Pastor knows you and your fiancé "well", if you haven't already, I would advise you to discuss this matter with Him and have him pray with you.
If your parents are mature believers and are respected members of the Body of Christ I would totally discuss this situation with them. The Bible says that there is safety in the multitude of counselors. Just be sure the counselors you choose are stable Christians who abide by God's biblical standards and walk in His love!
I don't know you dear one but God does and He wants His best for you! Don't be in a hurry. Turn it all over to Him and wait on Him. He will not fail you. He wants the best for all concerned.
In His Love,
PM