Being Single is Okay

Whether you're seventeen and do not have a prom date or you're thirty and not married, this blog is for you. I wanted to make a blog to tell you that being single is okay. I repeat, being single is OKAY. Trust me, as a nineteen year old who has never had a boyfriend I feel the sting of family gatherings. It feels like an interrogation where everyone wants to know if you're dating, engaged or ever planning on getting married. I get it, it sucks sometimes and sometimes it feels like there's something wrong with you. Let me tell you that There's not. If I'm honest, I will admit that there are some days that I hate being single. Some days I hate seeing pictures of couples decorating Christmas trees together, or family nights with each other's family or engagement pictures. But God always intervenes. He reminds me of the many things that I have been able to do, and goals that I have accomplished through His love and strength. Not someone else's. As a nineteen year old I have been on more adventures than I could have ever wished for. Things that would have been so different if I had a significant other through high school and my first year of college. God has blessed my singleness with adventure at every turn:

• I have been to New York 3 times
• I have been to North and South Carolina 2 times
• I have been on 2 missions trips to Alaska with no phone and no family
• I have climbed 3 mountains and a glacier. TWICE.
• I have bathed in rivers more times than I'd like to admit
• I got to ride my first horse on a trail in Kentucky
• I have gone a wilderness trip in Canada for 1 week
• I have been to Georgia 2 times and now I have applied to an internship / missions trip there for 2 months
• I plan to use the rest of my summers on mission for Him around the world
• I have been to Indiana with a friend
• I have been to Pennsylvania 2 times for Leadership Conferences
• I have spent a weekend in Chicago with friends
• I have gone to Disney with marching band and got to march in the Magic Kingdom
• I have been to Virginia 2 times and I plan to go to school there
• I have plans to move overseas when I graduate

I have been blessed with singleness for these past years. To me singleness has been a blessing in disguise. Looking back at these trips that I have taken, I think of how different they would have been if I had someone by my side. Would I have wanted to just stay in Ohio to be with them? Would I have traveled and soaked it in or would I have been texting them the whole time? Would my eyes be more focused on them than God's calling for me? I think of all the ways that things would have been altered. What are some ways that God has blessed you with singleness? Take a moment and think about how the Creator of all the universe has used your singleness for His glory. It doesn't have to be too elaborate. Maybe you were able to read through a book of the Bible with no one to interrupt, or maybe you were able to grab coffee with a friend because you had the extra time. God has a reason for your singleness, and that isn't just to torture you when the holiday's roll around. Take time and enjoy this blessing; go watch a sunset, go for a walk, or go on a spontaneous trip. I also encourage you to pray for whoever you may end up with. Below I linked a beautiful blog from a fellow singleton. It is a fourteen day prayer for your future spouse (it is written by a female, so if you're a male reading this you can change words if needed). Enjoy this single life. Make every moment an adventure. And never stop seeking God's eyes through it.

Prayers for my Future Husband - A Lovely Calling
http://alovelycalling.com/prayers-for-my-future-husband/

Psalm 16:11
"You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever."