Missing Rib

As young adults, I think the idea of finding someone has become one of the biggest concerns on our minds. We’re constantly surrounded by conversations about relationships, timelines, and expectations, and it’s easy to feel pressure to have everything figured out. As I’ve written before, I believe that our ultimate purpose is to know God and walk closely with Him; everything else in life is meant to follow from that. But this past week, as I was reading Genesis 2, I found myself reflecting on the story of the “missing rib.”

In Genesis 2:21–22, it says, “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man.” God formed Eve from Adam’s rib and brought her to him, not because Adam was incomplete on his own, but because God designed them to walk together with a shared purpose. Adam wasn’t searching or striving; he was simply living in obedience to God, and in God’s timing, Eve was brought into his life.

I think there’s something deeply reassuring about that. It reminds me that finding the right person isn’t supposed to be about endless striving, comparison, or rushing. It’s about trusting that God knows how to write my story far better than I do. My focus should be on walking with Him, growing in Him, and becoming the kind of person who reflects His character. If and when someone is meant to walk alongside me, it will happen in His timing, not because I forced it, but because He ordained it.

This idea ties directly into another biblical principle that’s just as important: being equally yoked. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, Paul writes, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” It’s a verse that gets quoted often, but I think we sometimes overlook its depth.

A yoke was a wooden harness placed on two oxen to help them work together in the same direction. If the two animals were mismatched, if one was stronger, faster, or going a different way, the yoke would become heavy and unproductive. The work would slow down, and both would struggle. That’s what happens in relationships when two people aren’t aligned spiritually. If one person is pursuing Christ and the other isn’t, they’ll eventually start pulling in different directions.

For me, this isn’t about creating a checklist or expecting perfection from someone else, it’s about direction. Are we both pursuing Jesus as the center of our lives? Are we both seeking to love like Him, serve like Him, and grow closer to Him? Because if we’re not walking toward the same destination, it’s going to be hard to walk together at all.

And that brings me back to Genesis. Just as Eve was brought to Adam at the right time and for the right purpose, I believe God still works that way today. He’s not just interested in giving us relationships; He’s interested in giving us relationships that glorify Him, strengthen our faith, and help us walk further in the calling He’s placed on our lives.

So instead of asking, “When will I find my missing rib?” maybe the better question is, “Am I walking closely enough with God to recognize them when they arrive?” Because if I’m pursuing Him wholeheartedly, I can trust that He’s preparing someone who is doing the same, and when the time is right, our paths will meet.

Until then, I want to live fully in the season I’m in. I want to become the kind of person who loves with patience, leads with grace, and seeks God above everything else. I want to build a life so rooted in Christ that when someone joins me in it, we’re not pulling each other off course; we’re moving forward together toward Him.

Maybe that’s the real beauty of the “missing rib” story: it’s not about searching for what’s missing, but about trusting the One who knows how to bring everything together in His perfect timing.