Everything God created was Good.  In Genesis 1 it says multiple times that "God saw that it was good".  It wasn't until later in chapter 2 when God said "It is not good..."  This was in verse 18 when He said "It is not good for man to be alone.  I will make him a helper comparable to him."  Here a question comes: did God create something that is not good?  Did God create something that is lacking?  Was Eve an afterthought?  Or a patch?  Something to fill a gap?  Did God in his foreknowledge not know that "It is not good for man to be alone..."?  Certainly not!

God knew from the beginning.  God had this plan all along.  Earlier in the first chapter we read "So God made man; in the image of God He made him; male and female He made them."  (Genesis 1:27)  This was always in God's plan.  Also, the very next verse reads "Then God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply...'" (Genesis 1:28)  How can God command man to multiply without providing him with a woman?  It must be that God had Eve planned from the very beginning, but He intentionally delayed her creation just a little bit.

The next question is why didn't God create Adam and Eve together at the same time?  Perhaps one reason for the delay is to show Adam how much he needed Eve.  He wanted Adam to taste life without Eve in order to appreciate her that much more.  Like a good father holding out on a surprise for his son, God had Eve prepared as a surprise for Adam.  This is because Eve fills a special and unique need for Adam that nothing else can fulfill.

In Chapter 2 we see how God is preparing Adam for Eve.  "Then the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man He formed." (Genesis 2:8)  But God didn't create Eve yet.  God wanted to show Adam that the gardens of the earth do not amount to the surprise He had for him.  "Besides this, God caused every tree beautiful to the sight and good for food to grow from the ground..."  (Genesis 2:9)  Still God didn't create Eve yet.  God wanted to show Adam that the beautiful nature that God created for Adam, as beautiful as it is, does not compare to Eve's beauty.  Genesis 2:10-14 describes the beauty of the garden with its river, its Gold and emerald.  Still God had a better surprise for him.

"Then the Lord God took the man He formed and put him in the garden to tend and keep it." (Genesis 2:15)  Yet Eve was not created yet.  Even work is not enough to satisfy Adam.  God wanted to show him that there's a different kind of need that is not fulfilled with work.  "It is not good for man to be alone..."

God brought all the wild animals of the field and all the birds of heaven to Adam to see what he would call them.  "So Adam gave names to all the cattle, to all the birds of heaven, and to all the wild animals of the field.  But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him." (Genesis 2:20)  Adam finally came to the same conclusion that he was alone, without a helper comparable to him.  And that's exactly when God created Eve for Adam out of Adam's own rib.

God had this plan all along.  His timing is crucial.  He always provides the best things for us, and provides them at the very best time.  God held out on the creation of Eve so that Adam would recognize that the earth, it's beauty, its trees and food, and even work is not enough.  "It is not good for man to be alone..."  God also sometimes holds out on the things we need in order for us to realize that we need it.  Notice that Adam didn't ask God for Eve.  Adam didn't even complain to God that he has no helper comparable to him.  It was just as soon as Adam thought it, God made it so.  That's how much God loves us.  God provides everything without us even asking for it.  And if He sometimes delays it, then it could be that God wants us to realize how much we need it.  Other times it's for us to turn to God and realize that He's the provider of all.

"Thus God brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh in its place.  Then the Lord God built the rib He took for Adam into a woman, and brought her to him." (Genesis 2:21-22)

Do you notice God providing for you before you even ask?  Do you feel God's love as a father providing the best things for His own?