A Single's Gift of Singleness

Sometimes I wallow in self-pity and mope around because I still remain single to this day (although, honestly, I am really not that old and so am really not that concerned about it).

I am that girl that has always wanted to get married and have children, but here I sit writing this post as a 22 year old who has never been even asked out on a date (and who also should be doing her homework right now and not writing blog posts at all. Ahem!).

But as I was thinking the other day and most likely trying to comfort myself over still being single, I was struck with just how blessed I am to still be single.

So many of my young friends (many of them younger than I) are either dating, engaged, or already married.

As I thought about it, it struck me that some of these friends have hardly even experienced any sort of single life. Some of them have not even made it through one year of college without being in a relationship.

Although it is by no means wrong to get in a relationship or get married at a young age and is often the calling God has over someone’s life, I also know that these people although blessed immeasurably in another way, are also missing out to a certain extent, the joys and blessings of being single.

It hit me the other day that as much as I long to be married and as much as I have longed to be married ever since I was a little girl, I would not trade these single years for anything.

I have had amazing opportunities to serve in my church, reach out to others, and love my brothers and sisters in Christ, not to mention that the single years are such beautiful and ripe years for growing in my love for Christ and the gospel. These things cannot be had to the same extent for one who is in a relationship because much of their time is taken up with getting to know the other person.

This is not at all to condemn the ones in a relationship or married, but rather to encourage myself and others who are still single to not miss the beautiful opportunities that singleness provides.

I want to live my single years with a passion, zeal, and purpose.

Whether God has marriage for me some day or not, I want to be able to look back over these years and see all the beauty in it.

As I continued to reflect on singleness, several godly young women came to my mind who are also still single themselves, women who I highly look up too and see as really godly women.

Women who I long to see married to the most godly men.

These are single women in their late 20s or early 30s, and that is part of what makes me look up to them so much.

The fact that these women have lived as a single woman longer than some, has made these women who they are today.

It has given them the inner beauty and strength that they have today.

I admire them because of their love for Christ and their passion and zeal to serve him, but they didn’t get there in just a day.

They are who they are in Christ today because of the pains and struggles that they have gone through as a single woman who most likely does long for marriage, yet has learned to lean ever closer to Christ and live their live solely for him, whether marriage be in the future for them or not.

The beauty that I see in these women is a beauty and strength that I want to have and I am willing and even desirous to live my entire life as a single woman if that is how God can grow me most in him and in his love.

Marriage is a beautiful thing and I do not at all mean for this post to look down upon those who are married or young and dating nor do I mean for this post to sound like single women are better than the married one.

But rather if God chooses for you to remain single forever or simply just longer than maybe many of your friends than see that as a beautiful treasure and gift from God.