Never Settle...
This has been my byline for a long time. I plan to stick to it, though it has been difficult at times to wait on God's best. Recently, an anonymous female from church wrote a semi-cynical, semi-lighthearted poem about the fact that the single men in our church don't ask girls out very much. The poem was posted on another girl's blog site...this sparked a bit of conversation, both on and off the web, and it got me to thinking...not that it takes much to get me to thinking, but thinking coherently is quite a different thing from just plain thinking. I'm hoping this is the coherent kind.
My thoughts:
Single people are single for a reason. The reasons vary from fear of committment to social ineptitude to the plain and simple fact that it just isn't God's timing for them to be married. I think this last reason is the most overspoken and underbelieved reason of all. It's right up there with "do not be anxious about anything..." See, we singles can spout faith-filled sentiments saying, "God is in control" or "I know He has somebody for me somewhere" but then, we go off and try to make things happen on our own or we pine, whine and worry about our lack of a dating life. Do we really believe God is in control and that He has someone "out there" for us if we are constantly talking about our singleness? Maybe we are using tunnel vision and seeing only marriage as the end-all, be-all of existence, when truthfully, there are limitless callings in life that are just as viable and believe it or not, fulfilling, as marriage. A lot of us who whine (and I'm including myself, because I've done my share) probably will get married eventually, but what are we doing with our singleness and do we have the mentality that even if we never do marry, we can live an adventurous, victorious and God-glorifying life as a single person? Are we willing for God to call us to singleness?
Never settle...I've always thought of that injuction only in terms of who I'd be willing to end up with. But, it's bigger than that. Never settle for less than God's best whether that be marriage or singleness, a desk job in the city or a remote mission field assignment, teaching or ministry, in my case.
I've learned that "Never Settle" is not an excuse to close my mind to what I think I don't want. It's a command to be open to what God wants.
3 comments:
Karla, great blog, watch it multiply with time. Second, liked the message alot. Being a single weirdo, I am weird, let's be honest, I know what makes me single, what my hangups are, but also what God will take ahold of. Y'all can visit my blog, but expect some coarse and political stuff..... Sometimes, it gets deep and spiritual, usually with an atheist arguing there is no reason for faith, but puts full stock in theories shot full of more holes than a chainlink fence.
Hi Karla, nice word of encouragement. I totally see eye-to-eye.
Hi, I realize this is an old post but felt the urge to respond. The part about the poem sounds funny and I'd be curious to read it if there is a link somewhere.
A wonderful friend of mine gave me this book by Dr. Henry Cloud entitled How to Get a Date Worth Keeping. I think it's primarily written with women in mind, but it has much to offer men also, particularly those who aren't asking any of the girls at church to go out on a simple date.
Anyway, it's a worthwhile read that encourages men and women to view dating as a positive growth process and urges them to participate more actively in connecting with the people that God places around us.
Enjoyed what you wrote.
Post a Comment