Even though I briefly mentioned Valentine’s Day, I
thought I would interrupt the recent blogs from Ephesians 2 and devote an
entire blog to the holiday. I do this
primarily because my heart goes out to a large group of people: those who are
single and unattached today. They know
the cultural expectation to have a significant other on this day, and to not
have one weighs heavily upon them like a blanket. How do I know this? To be transparent with you, I know this
because I am currently in that life situation.
I will never forget a TV commercial from years ago. It began with a woman looking diligently in
the greeting card aisle for the perfect Valentine’s Day card for her boyfriend. She reads the line, “our love is like a
beacon” aloud to herself. After a lot of
careful deliberation, she finds the right card.
By contrast, her boyfriend, as he is purchasing his beer at a grocery
store, throws in the first Valentine’s Day card he sees in the checkout line. The scene shifts to the couple reading each
other’s cards. “It’s perfect,” the girl
exclaims to her guy. The commercial (and
more specifically the man) always irritated me. This loving girl deserved more effort than
that!
I tell you all that because I came across an article that
I will be sharing portions of today. And
as I do, I wanted you to know that this wasn’t some apathetic exercise, without
any emotional fervor, on my end. As if it
was just something I thought would be good for others to read for a Valentine’s
Day blog; no, I needed this reminder.
Author Stacy Reaoch wrote a helpful article that she
titled “Singleness Is Not a Problem to Be
Solved”. At one point, she brings up
a quote from Elisabeth Elliot that changed her perspective. Elisabeth’s quote was this: “If you are
single today, the portion assigned to you for today is singleness. It is God’s gift. Singleness ought not to be viewed as a
problem, nor marriage as a right. God in
his wisdom and love grants you either as a gift.” Stacy goes on to write, “I was shocked and
offended the first time my eyes rolled over those words. But it was Elisabeth Elliot’s voice, along
with the apostle Paul’s (1 Corinthians 7:7), that propelled me to not pine over
a missing relationship, but to wholeheartedly pursue Jesus and the life he had give
me to live.”
She then lists four ways to make the most of
singleness. I’m not going to list them
all here (but the link will be below, and it is well worth your time), however,
I am going to cite these words: “In whatever season of waiting God might have
you in, choose to bloom where you’re planted.
Embrace the life God has called you to, whether single or married. Trust that both callings are precious gifts
of grace, both with painful and overwhelming hardships. Happiness is not found through finding a soul
mate, but through finding satisfaction in a loving Savior who has called you
his own and made you a beloved son or daughter of the King.”
Let me conclude with this: one of my Christmas gifts was a
book by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Robert Wolgemuth titled “You Can Trust God to Write Your Story”. It is a wonderful book that I resonate with. The proper response is always surrendering to
the Lord and His ways. Not that it’s
always easy, but we can trust God; He knows best.
Kevin
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