"She Shall be Praised"

The Valentine's day hooplah is now coming to an end,
candy hearts and overstocked sweets are now marked down and greet you at your local grocery store like sad rejected misfits that weren't chosen to brighten someone's special day.

I am sure there are people that may feel the same way after this over the top day to celebrate love. Discounted and rejected because that special someone has not yet entered their life or they have loved and lost.  The desire for romantic love can choke out any happiness or joy in life if you allow it.  Being single doesn't have to equal sad, alone, and hopeless.

This has been a struggle for me, but I am learning to trust God each day.  God also has some wonderful advice for women on this very issue.We are to be wise and build up (Proverbs 14:1) we are to fear the Lord rather than be concerned with the favor and beauty of this world (Proverbs 31:30) Single women, care about the things of the Lord seeking to be holy in body and in spirit and serve the Lord without distraction (at least that is what we are supposed to do) (1Corinthians 7:34-35).

Wisdom~Women are to be wise, so where do we get wisdom?  We get wisdom from the Lord.  How do we get wisdom?  We get wisdom by fearing the Lord. According to Proverbs 9:10,  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding."

Fear the Lord~How do we fear the Lord?  The Instistute in Basic Life Principles defines it this way, "To fear God is to desire to live in harmony with His righteous standards and to honor Him in all that you do." Easier said than done, right?  First it begins with the desire.  When we desire to live for God we will begin to put some action behind that desire and find out what His standards are and how we can honor Him.

Cares for the things of the Lord~When we fear God, we get wisdom and will begin to care for the things that matter most to God such as serving others and reaching them with the Good News of the gospel.

Holy in body and spirit~God is holy, and as we seek Him we will want to become like Him.  I think it is interesting to note that we will become holy in body and spirit.  Our body is from God and needs to reflect His glory just as much as our spirit.

Serve the Lord without distraction~According to the Word of God, single women can serve the Lord without distraction.  The distraction of a husband, I assume.  This is not to say marriage is inferior or wrong or singleness is a higher form of holiness.  Singleness just affords a specific opportunity to serve God (if one so chooses) that doesn't come with marriage.  The key is to actually take hold of it and serve God in your singleness.  Singleness is not a place to put your life on hold waiting around for the one that will sweep you off of your feet.  It will have moments of waiting, but ultimately you should be living your life to the full in accordance to God's will.  Distractions come in all shapes and sizes.  In today's technology-driven and fast-paced world, it is easy to get lost in all of the things that are constantly grabbing for our attention.  TV, computers, phones, social media, and that constant desire to be plugged in and not out of the loop. This makes serving the Lord without distraction that much harder.  It can be done, and God is there for us every step of the way.  We just need to seek Him and learn how to fear him.

For the Glory of God,

The Simple Days...

What happened to the simple days when you had to actually memorize your best friend's phone number and purposely call them on a phone with a cord with a 10 foot reach?  In today's tech-savvy world, major milestones in friends, or friends of friends' lives are being broadcast to 200+ of their closest friends.

Social media is so intuitive (or we freely give away our "privacy"), that the advertisers have picked up on what we want in life.  I can't tell you how many ads targeted at dating sites or engagement rings I have seen in the last week.  "So I am single, thanks for pointing out the obvious."  Just because I am single doesn't mean I am broken.  Just because I am single doesn't mean I don't have purpose.  God has given me several  harvests of kiddos to pour His love into and teach them how to read and shine the light of Jesus in their lives.  I am grateful for that responsibility.  I have a great family and church family that I can count on no matter what.

These constant reminders of what I lack in life, to be honest, are annoying.  As the glitzy ring catches my eye, my mind can wander to the future.  Then I find myself entering the land of "If Only."  "If only I had husband..."  "If only I was the best teacher... and so on.  This place becomes a very dangerous place to dwell.  As soon as I find myself headed down the path, I quickly send up a prayer and attempt to redirect my thoughts to what I have before me.

My desire to be married and have a family is not wrong, it is just so tough to be reminded by other's happiness or ads that seem to point out that unfulfilled desire in my life.  I am learning slowly that God has a purpose for this season of my life.  My aim is to become holy in body and spirit and serve God without distraction (that is proving harder than I had realized) (I Corinthians 7:34-35).  God also tells me to delight in Him, and He will give me the desires of my heart (Psalm 37:4).  God knows my heart, now I have to trust Him and wait on His timing.