A new friend of mine from the Newman Catholic Center at Cal Poly University shared with me a little story that I thought is a good lesson for all of us:
Ever since she was a young girl, she knew she would one day meet the right man and marry. She spent her time and energy waiting for that day, looking for the right man, and eventually, joyfully finding him.
Then, all of her attention went into the planning for the wedding, to mark the first day of their lives together as special. Invitations were sent out, guests arrived to the beautifully decorated church, and the bride, with her heart fluttering in excitement, was almost ready.
The maid of honor helped her into her exquisite dress. The bride was radiant, her joy was mirrored back to her when she took one last look in the mirror before making her way to meet her soon-to-be husband. Only….
There, in the corner of the bridal suite, in the shadows, sat Jesus weeping. The bride’s heart was full, and had no room left for Him.
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Many may think this is a story to encourage one to think again about giving themselves totally to Jesus through becoming a religious sister, brother, or priest.
But in truth, the moral of the story is so much more.
We do this to Jesus, shut him out of our lives, every time we fill our hearts with other desires before first making our hearts the home for our King. Was the young woman wrong to desire to find a worthy spouse? Of course not. No more wrong as for one to dive head first into a calling as a religious or priest. BUT for either vocation to be successful in its entirety, the spiritual home must first be nourished with the Divine love that makes us whole in both body and spirit; the in-dwelling of the Holy Trinity.
It is in this wholeness, that we are equipped to give ourselves fully to another. It is only then, the bride who runs to meet her bridegroom will be found carrying more than her beauty to the union; she will be bringing the gift of God himself.
nunspeak 
This is beautiful, and, of course, sad. I would never read this as a way to shame people into the religious life. It’s an interesting wake-up call. There are many wedding/wedding dress tv shows and movies out there right now and ladies, especially, are affected.
If we grow up romanticizing all of that, we’re ignoring some of the queues God may be leaving in our lives. He knows better than we do and if we fall in love with the idea of marriage before we learn where God needs us, we’re going to limit our purpose.