In less than a week, I'll say goodbye to singleness and hello to married life. I'm so excited but if I'm honest, I have a few mixed emotions of saying adieu to singledom. Now, don't get me wrong- I'm grateful for this new season of my life, but my season of singleness was a rich one too.
I graduated high school thinking I would meet my husband in college- at the BCM of course! Um no! I met some great godly guys, and if I could combine different qualities into one guy, then I might would have found him. But my years at BCM really helped me to see what I was really looking for in a husband.
When I graduated college and then grad school still single- it stung. Badly! My timeline was all out of wack. I moved to a new city four hours away after grad school and thought for sure I'd meet him. Again no. Blind date after blind date- no.
It wasn't until I was 27 that the Lord really brought me to a place of true contentment in being single. I mean REAL TRUE CONTENTMENT. I prayed for it, and tried to fool myself into thinking I was content- I wasn't. I had put my life on hold until I found the one. I wasn't living. Truly living.
I'm not really sure exactly when the lightbulb came on that caused my shift in thinking, but it was somewhere around the fall of 2008 when i went to croatia. I suddenly embraced the freedom of being single. When I got the phone call about Croatia, I only had a few days to give an answer. It was liberating to be able to say yes, because I could- I didn't have to consult with anyone! same thing with going to Rwanda, Brazil and Haiti. i bought a house when I was single. I had incredible opportunities because I embraced where God had me right now. Not to say it wasn't easy- it was hard! All of my friends were getting married. Everyone but me.
I'm 31 and getting married. About 10 years behind my original schedule! But looking back, I wasn't ready. D wasn't ready. God wasn't through working in our lives so that we would be better together. I told him the other day that I was so thankful that we're older and getting married- he would not have wanted to marry me at 25! I wouldn't have wanted to marry me!
A verse that I clung to a lot during my single season is Psalm 84:5-7:
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.[a]
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
Our wedding verse is Psalm 126:3- The LORD has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.
Reflections of this Season
- earned 2 college degrees
- started my first real job
- Landed my dream job in ministry
- Moved away from home
- Bought my first home
- Traveled out of the country 4 times
- Got a tattoo
- Found a church home
- found another church home
- experienced community
- experienced heartache but learned to see God in it
- met the love of my life
- found true friendships
