I'm tired of blogs about waiting for your prince charming, things to do/you're not a failure articles for 20 somethings, and "relevant" Christians weighing in singleness in the church.
Just stop.
Why do we search for comfort in other peoples' triumph stories and cling to hope birthed from their earthly happiness? Why do we rank accomplishments in our life such as getting married, having kids, and having a successful career in front of the one thing that God put us on this earth to do?
Don't get me wrong, I am all for all of those things. Though these things are good, I'm not going to throw away what I believe are wonderful opportunities out of fear of going into ministry as a single woman. Yes, I want to get married. That is something that has been one of my deepest desires for as long as I can remember. Yes, I want to have children. I want to raise them up in knowing their God-given purpose and instill in them the hope that needs to be spread through this world like wildfire. Both of these are things that I desire deep down within my heart, but neither of them will ever debilitate my ministry if they do not become a reality in my life.
I have grown so worn, saddened, and tired from the question of whether or not I am going to wait until I find a husband before I start my ministry. Am I so crazy for thinking that God isn't limited by my marital status? Not only do I get questioned about my future love life, but I also get drilled about how I need to look for a job that will make me some good money so that I can live a life that is financially comfortable. The last time I checked, Jesus said "go." He didn't say "go" after you find a husband, "go" after you are settled in with children, and he didn't say "don't go" because you've found yourself a wonderful career opportunity. He flat-out just said to GO.
"Go" for some people may be 5 minutes down the street or it might be in a country you barely know anything about. Where does not matter... God can use you wherever you may find yourself. What matters is that you are being obedient to His commands and telling of the hope that is in Christ.
Here's my beef with Christians who are posting these blogs: We, as a church, are feeding ourselves the idea that God owes us something whether it's a partner, a good job, children, etc. We've become demanding consumers of God's blessings. We see others' circumstances and we demand that God honor those desires of our hearts. But here's the problem... God doesn't owe us anything. In fact, we all deserve only one thing, and one thing only. That one thing is death. It doesn't matter if we have sinned once or a million times, we all deserve death. Depressing, right? But here comes the wonderful truth: God gave us hope through His son and He defeated death by death. As far as I'm concerned, Jesus is enough.
JESUS. IS. ENOUGH. He is more than any happiness marriage, children, or worldly success could ever bring me. He will sustain me and give me joy in all areas of life. He is all I need.
So whenever I start to doubt whether God can use me as I am, I will ask myself, "Is Jesus enough?" The moment I stop answering that question with a "yes" will be the moment that I have failed myself and God. I pray that moment will never come to pass and that I never put limitations on God's ability to use me as a single woman. Jesus is enough and He is everything.
