This is an attempt to not be one of those "single and waiting", "single and happy", "single and Jesus loves me" type of deals. While there is a lot of truth in some of those posts, they just get old rather quickly. :)
Imagine I'm sitting at a quaint coffee shop that no one knows about. Come on over, grab a chair, and get comfortable for conversation.
I create this weird reality in my head that I always need to be two steps ahead from where I actually am. If I'm in one position, I'm wishing I was in the next. I look down at my patch of grass and I want the stuff that's 3 feet away. Why? I'd really love to know myself. I suppose its a textbook case of discontentment. One avenue that can easily shoot from this one lies in the area of relationships. Single, dating, married, you name it; everyone thinks about it. And naturally we evaluate where we're at. My problem is that I get restless and tired of where I'm at and wish I was in the next place. I've been convicted of this. It's like I'm telling God, "Hi. I'm bored with where you have me so I'm going to throw this moment away and whine." How foolish of me.
The grass is not always greener on the other side because right when you get to where you wanted to be, you spot something else that looks better. We have to live in the moment, people! Love the moment! You're gonna blink, and it will be gone. Don't miss it. Don't waste it.
I'm not overjoyed about being single all the time. The Christian teenage media likes to press the "single and loving it" side. And sometimes, I do love it. :) I'm freed up for all sorts of life experiences and adventure. But the fact is, being an 18 year old senior and having never had a boyfriend puts me in quite a small minority. Most 15 year olds have more relationship experience than I do. There are days that I just wonder what it's like! Haha. But you know what? It's alright. It's okay to not be normal.
It's okay to hang on to timing that is not my own. It's okay to trust in a bigger picture that isn't even of this earthly scale. It's so. much. bigger. Who am I to say that I know what's best? Singleness only comes once, at least that's what everyone says. Stop wishing you were somewhere else, with someone else, doing something else and just live. Live out exactly who God made you to be. Maybe your circumstances will change, maybe they won't. But it's funny, we aren't asked to be discontent when things aren't shaping up as we wanted. We're called to be content when it's dry. When it feels like we're stuck in the same freaking plot of grass for months. I've been there. I look down and all I see is the same thing, the same stupid grass. But I forget to look up. I'm so focused on my little patch that I miss the bountiful pasture. We humans are so silly. We miss so much.
It's nothing new... not many people actually wholeheartedly love being single. We were created for fellowship and relationship. That's pretty clear in the Garden when God gave Eve to Adam. There's always a yearning inside someone that wants to be loved by another human. Do you feel that? I do. It's pretty normal, actually.
At this moment you may be thinking, "K. There's not much I can do, then."
Can I just encourage you to trust? To hold on patiently to something that is SO much bigger than our own? Trust and obey. That's what God asks of us. Don't whine pathetically because you don't understand. (I do this way too often- LOL- guilty as charged). He says trust.
Trust me, Rachel. Then obey. Even if you don't get it all right now. It's way more simple than I realize. Delight your self in The Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4.
Here's the catch: The way He fulfills those desires may not look exactly how we envisioned. (like a person at our doorstep) That could be the first time you've thought of it that way. We have desires, and we also have an exact way we'd like them answered. He may be fulfilling those desires with a deeper longing and burning passion for Jesus Christ. God may answer differently that we thought. My prayer is that you and I fall so deeply in love with him that He alone fills our souls deepest aches. Every crack and crevice is overflowing with Him. It's not always easy to press into Him for satisfaction- yet He is the only one that can truly satisfy.
Until then, enjoy the journey. Delight yourself in Jesus. Stop wishing your circumstances away. Stop waiting for a perfect unattainable plot of grass. Stop hoping away the joy that is found in each moment that you can never get back.
Life begins when we stop pouting and start living.
Run to Him. His perfection can quench any desire we have. Entrust your soul's desires in the One who designed them.
The grass is not always greener on the other side because right when you get to where you wanted to be, you spot something else that looks better. We have to live in the moment, people! Love the moment! You're gonna blink, and it will be gone. Don't miss it. Don't waste it.
I'm not overjoyed about being single all the time. The Christian teenage media likes to press the "single and loving it" side. And sometimes, I do love it. :) I'm freed up for all sorts of life experiences and adventure. But the fact is, being an 18 year old senior and having never had a boyfriend puts me in quite a small minority. Most 15 year olds have more relationship experience than I do. There are days that I just wonder what it's like! Haha. But you know what? It's alright. It's okay to not be normal.
It's okay to hang on to timing that is not my own. It's okay to trust in a bigger picture that isn't even of this earthly scale. It's so. much. bigger. Who am I to say that I know what's best? Singleness only comes once, at least that's what everyone says. Stop wishing you were somewhere else, with someone else, doing something else and just live. Live out exactly who God made you to be. Maybe your circumstances will change, maybe they won't. But it's funny, we aren't asked to be discontent when things aren't shaping up as we wanted. We're called to be content when it's dry. When it feels like we're stuck in the same freaking plot of grass for months. I've been there. I look down and all I see is the same thing, the same stupid grass. But I forget to look up. I'm so focused on my little patch that I miss the bountiful pasture. We humans are so silly. We miss so much.
It's nothing new... not many people actually wholeheartedly love being single. We were created for fellowship and relationship. That's pretty clear in the Garden when God gave Eve to Adam. There's always a yearning inside someone that wants to be loved by another human. Do you feel that? I do. It's pretty normal, actually.
At this moment you may be thinking, "K. There's not much I can do, then."
Can I just encourage you to trust? To hold on patiently to something that is SO much bigger than our own? Trust and obey. That's what God asks of us. Don't whine pathetically because you don't understand. (I do this way too often- LOL- guilty as charged). He says trust.
Trust me, Rachel. Then obey. Even if you don't get it all right now. It's way more simple than I realize. Delight your self in The Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4.
Here's the catch: The way He fulfills those desires may not look exactly how we envisioned. (like a person at our doorstep) That could be the first time you've thought of it that way. We have desires, and we also have an exact way we'd like them answered. He may be fulfilling those desires with a deeper longing and burning passion for Jesus Christ. God may answer differently that we thought. My prayer is that you and I fall so deeply in love with him that He alone fills our souls deepest aches. Every crack and crevice is overflowing with Him. It's not always easy to press into Him for satisfaction- yet He is the only one that can truly satisfy.
Until then, enjoy the journey. Delight yourself in Jesus. Stop wishing your circumstances away. Stop waiting for a perfect unattainable plot of grass. Stop hoping away the joy that is found in each moment that you can never get back.
Life begins when we stop pouting and start living.
Run to Him. His perfection can quench any desire we have. Entrust your soul's desires in the One who designed them.
Rachel I just want to thank you. I really needed to hear this. I just happend to stumble across it on Facebook and i wasn't even going to read it at first, but I'm glad I did because you have encouraged me in this more than you know. God is working through you and I just feel blessed to be on the receiving end of it right now!
ReplyDeleteAw Shea, you are so welcome! That is an answer to my prayers because that is exactly why I write a blog. To encourage and inspire. Keep chasing Him in whatever area of life you are at! Love you, girl. :)
DeleteGreat, honest thoughts. Nice to know that someone else who's still waiting doesn't always find it the most thrilling thing in the world. But you're so right, we need to just enjoy the moment and use it for Christ, not waste it. :)
ReplyDelete-Luke
www.sharpenothers.org
Rach, you're such an fiery writer. I love this!!!! Thanks for being so honest and real. Thanks for putting yourself out there and sharing your struggles. For being bold and speaking truth... And for raising my gaze tonight. You're cool.
ReplyDelete