God gives so many blessings. Even singleness is a
gift. Yes, I will dare to say it out loud.
From the standpoint of planning a wedding in
four months, I can certainly point to the value of
having plenty of free time and the freedom to do
whatever you want while you’re single. Having
been in that spot for many years, however, I realize this is little comfort. In fact, having freedom is
no comfort at all when you desire, well, to share
your time and energy with someone else. (And
really, I’ll be honest....it’s quite a bit of fun to
have someone with whom to share your life.)
So I’ll stick with the more simplistic reason -
Singleness is a gift because God
designates the times and seasons
of our lives, and He designed a
plan for you in your singleness.
I know you want to know the plan’s details,
inside and out. I know you want to be content
when your emotions are screaming in their loneliness. I know you want to speed up the process,
skip the lessons, and jump ahead to the part
where the swelling romantic music leads to a
sloppy wet kiss.
Back up a little, and take a look at your blessings.
Can you be thankful for the friendships you have
with other women? Can you be thankful for the
practical acquiring of household management
techniques? Can you be thankful for the knowledge of how to provide for yourself in this unstable economy?
Now take the time to write your own prayer
of thankfulness. As the writers of Veggie Tales’
Madame Blueberry point out, “a thankful heart is
a happy heart.” If you’re struggling with sadness,
loneliness, or depression, this is (most definitely)
the cure.
On the internet one day I found this amazing
picture of a happy girl - leaping up and down
with excitement on an old upholstered chair in a
garbage dump.
Could I be happy in such a place? Could you?
And yet she is. Happy, thankful, content. For her,
the moment is priceless.
She’d be overjoyed to have the leftovers I left at
the restaurant the other night. She’d be thrilled
to have a clean dress, let alone a new one. She’d
be grateful for a chance to play on the beach, to
ride on a city bus, to smell sweet perfume.
Regardless, she finds her joy in the poorest of
conditions.
I know you’re missing something - you desire
someone to walk with you on this journey of life.
I know the heartache and the loneliness and the
feeling that no one else seems to understand. I
do. And it’s coming - your moment will someday
arrive, and this present sorrow will fade.
For now, though, you can thank God for the
blessings He provides. I know you can.`
Can you be thankful for salvation? For hope? For
joy? For peace?
At least two Psalms spend time reflecting on
the need to thank the Lord. Read Psalm 107 and
Psalm 136, and take note of how many times the
psalmist repeats the phrases. In addition, thankfulness is mentioned in Psalms 6, 18, 26, 30, 35,
50, 69, 75, 79, 92, 95, 97, 100, 105, 106, 116, 118,
119, 122, 140, and 147!
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