It's so easy to let the world dictate what you think about yourself. If I listened to the world I would certainly live in deep despair. I would think that I am totally alone in my "plight." Being 46 and never married (no offense to divorcees or widows) people automatically think you're some kind of loser or weirdo. Movies and TV, even the church try to tell you that the penultimate of life is to be married. Don't get me wrong, it's a desire of my heart to be married. And I love my married friends, they have been a blessing to me in so many ways. But I was thinking about this last night, I know several amazing women and men who are single and in my age range.
Here are a few that come immediately to mind. The folks that represent "my kind." There's T*, who left his government contracting job to spend the last several years in the Ukraine teaching the Bible. There's C*, who moved across the country to be closer to her family, whose smile and laugh always light up a room, who is an amazing aunt to her nieces and nephews, and who helped walk her dad into eternity. There's J* who lives fiercely independent with her arthritis, takes such good care of her mama, and opens her home to crazy old high school friends ;-). There's N*, who writes original musicals, helps take care of her mom, and spends her days teaching kids about music and the Lord. There's J*, who overcomes her lupus every day and loves to play her violin. There's P* who plays the guitar better than me, volunteers his time to local public television, and tries to help out our older aunts and uncles when he can. There's B* who is a great friend to my brother, leads his young team members with compassion, and takes good care of his mom.
So here's to you my friends. I don't know where your hearts are regarding your singleness, but I just wanted you to know that I think you're pretty awesome as you are. It's an encouragement to me in those moments when I start to agree with the world about who I am. Thank you for reminding me and the rest of the world that being single can be a blessing. Thanks for representin'!
* I only used first intials because I didn't ask anyone if I could write about them. If you know them, you probably know who I'm talking about.
Having been a single 30-something until recently, I can actually relate to this, Chris. The church, well, the protestant part of it anyway, in particular forgets that Jesus himself was single, not to mention Paul and so many others. I would like to see the church affirm the gift of singleness as much as it does marriage.
ReplyDelete