Well, I'm gonna try to start blogging more... I'm not gonna mention how many times I've said that to myself before, but hey. Can't hurt to try, right?
And I wanna start off by talking about that horrible "s-word" we conservative Christian homeschooler types (you know what I'm talking about) seem to hate so much. You know... <whispers> singleness! =O But before we all hurry off to browse wedding dresses online in order to purge our minds of such awfulness... you may wanna turn with me to 1 Corinthians 7. ;) I used to find that chapter so depressing when I was younger (12-14). I remember being almost in tears when I asked Mom: "So… does God not WANT us to get married?" Well, obviously, this is not the case, as in Proverbs it says "he who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord." And marriage is a picture of God and the church, after all.
BUT. There's a verse that particularly strikes home, for me at least, in 1 Cor 7… "An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband." (1 Cor 7:34… the earlier verse being the same for men). Unmarried/virgin--yes, that would be "single." =P But see the privilege that unmarried people are given! We're to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit, how wonderful is that? Yeah, all well and good, right? Tell us something we don't know. But look at how that's contrasted with being "concerned with the affairs of this world--how he/she can please his/her wife/husband." This contrast, to me, speaks of the "single years" as a very special time where not only are we supposed to have a special concentration on the Lord and His work, but we are given the ability to do so without the hindrance and distraction that a family will one day provide. Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all slamming family or God's pattern there. That has a very important role in the Kingdom, but it's not the end-all, either.
Me, I'm about to graduate from college, so I've been chewing on such things as singleness a good deal lately, as there are many decisions to be made and especially since I have a gut sense it'll be several more years before I'm married (which I'm a-okay with). Still trying to figure this all out myself, but I want to offer the thought for discussion: do we Christian young people, raised with a godly mindset for marriage/ family / Biblical roles (all wonderful things), perhaps get too caught up in all that and miss the incredible benefits and joys--not to mention big responsibilities and opportunities--of being "devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit"? Are we, girls (I think we do this more than the guys), already "concerned about the affairs of this world--how [we] can please [our] husband[s]"?
Everything is beautiful in its time. And the "single years," I believe, are a special time to be, above all other times in life, devoted wholly to the Lord--not to hunting down a spouse, or being concerned to the point of distraction about getting married, or playing out all different sorts of marriage/family scenarios in your head or even making sure you're the picture-perfect homekeeper or whatever. Preparing within reason is important, by all means, but let us remember that these years of our lives are supposed to be specially and specifically devoted to God, not to a far (or even not-so-far) off future.
God knows who our spouses are, guys. And He knows our wedding dates. So let's be faithful to what He wants us to do NOW and leave those dates up to Him, eh?
Oh, but if those of you who want to get married a little more badly want a word of encouragement along with that--it seems God normally brings along the right person (sometimes out of the blue) when a person finally learns to be content with singleness and make the most of it. Just saying. ;)
