If you had a dollar for every time someone asked you, “Is there anyone special in your life?” you would be very rich, right? These kinds of questions can make it seem like you should feel bad about this season of your life. There is nothing further from the truth. This season of being single is a special gift from God that allows you precious time to reflect on yourself, on God, and on the kind of life you would like to have. Learn how to live, enjoy, and embrace your life from this next post.
"There is Nothing Negative About Being Single" by Angell Gray
I am a single woman. I have been single for seven years. I think being single is a beautiful gift. It is the time you have to reflect on yourself.
We single ladies receive negativity from time to time. Never let anyone make you feel bad about being single.
1 Corinthians 7:7 says, “For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.”
In 1 Corinthians 7:7, Paul is stating that being single is a gift given from God. I always say embrace life. Embrace being single. Alone does not mean lonely. We are never alone, because we have God. Do not get mixed up in the worldly form of complete. Let me tell you, marriage does not make you complete. You are complete in God alone. When the time is right, you will meet Mr. or Mrs. Right. Until then, enjoy what God has to offer. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.” I have let God direct my paths; He has taken me places I've never imagined.
I read the Serenity Prayer daily, it has helped me, and I believe it can help you.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
-- Reinhold Niebuhr
I was not always single. I was in a relationship with my high school sweetheart. My first heartbreak. I loved him deeply; it hurt deeply. We have all gone through heartbreak. Looking back on that time in my life, I realize it happened for a reason. I know some people in my life think I should have started dating by now. I do not agree. We go through certain situations because Jesus is calling us closer to Him. I thank God for everyone He aligned to help me through that heartbreak. I would not be where I am today if it was not for that time in my life.
When we walk with Christ, He transforms our lives for the better. As Israel Houghton's song “Moving Forward” states: “You make all things new, I will follow you forward,” and that is what I did. I could have looked at what was going wrong in my life, but instead I choose to look at what was going right. Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Always remember dwelling on the past helps no one, but moving forward with Jesus helps everyone! Singleness is a gift from God! It was my gift, and I thank Him every day for it. I have come a long way. The one thing I cherish the most about being single for seven years is my spiritual growth. I am focused on God. He is number one!
"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of upward call of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14
Embrace all of life!
Pray
God, I do need the wisdom to know the difference between the things I can change and the things I must accept and embrace. Grant me the ability to live each day trusting that You have it all under control.
Reflect
Am I using this time to walk with Christ while allowing Him to transform my life for the better?
Respond
Look for the ways God is using this time in your life for good.
People ask you about your dating life to make conversation with you, not to make you feel bad. There is nothing negative about being where you are right now. Now is the best time in your life for becoming who you are meant to be, and for learning to lean on God. So the next time someone asks you that dreaded question you can reply, “Yes, there is…It’s God!” The next post will tackle another complicated issue of being single: how to deal with loneliness.
