You see, my life is FAR from perfect right now. I mean, it's never perfect, but right now it's farther from that than normal. So, when I stumbled across John 14:27 "Peace I leave you with; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." I literally thought to myself "Hey . . . now there's a verse to put on my whiteboard. It will be a GREAT reminder" scribbled the address on my hand and continued on with my night.
When I returned to my dorm room, I sat down with my computer and opened Facebook (what else did you expect a college student to do on the computer?) as I scrolled, I came across several new relationships, a couple engagements, and some pregnancy posts. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE hearing about other people's happy news, but sometimes the reminder of how single I am gets to be too much. As I was scrolling, I glanced over at the sidebar (you know the one, the right-hand side of the screen, covered in random ads) and literally EVERY SINGLE AD was for a dating website. Not just one, tucked in there, no. The ENTIRE sidebar. Zoosk. Christian Mingle. Farmers Only. And, my personal favorite, Rich Daddy Needs a Princess. All of them boasting of how they had the perfect guy for me. And plenty of singles my age to flirt with, chat with, fall in love with, etc. And I thought "That's what the world has to offer?" And suddenly, that verse was back in my head. "I do not give to you as the world gives to you."
As a speaker at our school said last week, the church is doing a wonderful job of making singleness feel like something that makes us feel like second-class citizens. And it's not just the church. Society is aiding that feeling at every corner. Pushing this idea that we can't be complete without a significant other. Which is pure crap. The God of the Universe created us JUST as we are, and thinks of us as beautiful. Reread that last statement. Okay? Now where in that did I say that he thinks we are beautiful once we find love and romance? Did you see the part where he made us incomplete until Prince Charming sweeps us off our feet? Yeah . . . neither did I. Because he didn't. He made us in his image. To be his precious children. Yes, He rejoices when we do find love and romance and someone who makes us happy in a healthy loving relationship. But, he doesn't say we are second class until that day comes.
So, if God leaves us with his peace, he GIVES it to us, why do we deny it? He explicitly states that he doesn't give to us the same way the world gives to us, and can we just take a minute to THANK HEAVEN that he doesn't? Because, the world gives us this image of what is supposed to make us happy; love and romance. But, we are all so busy pursuing love and romance that by the time we find true love that's paired with real romance, all we have left to offer our significant other is a shattered, broken heart, that multiple people have taken chunks out of. And that's what society is selling us. But, God, he's giving us his peace. He's not selling it to us, he's not hyping it up, he's simply putting out there and saying "Here. It's yours." With his peace, our hearts don't need to be troubled. We don't need to be afraid. I'm not going to lie, lately my heart has been very troubled. I have been afraid; afraid that something is wrong with me, afraid that I'll never find a guy who would want to put up with this mess I call me, afraid that someday I will end up alone (collecting dogs), and afraid that my dreams for my future would just cease to have any validity. But, God is waiting, he's offering me his peace. It's an overwhelming peace, that calms the troubled heart and relieves the fears.
But, I also want none of what the world is trying to give to me. I don't want the bi-weekly reminder that I will probably never be someone's "Woman Crush Wednesday" or get to post a "Man Crush Monday" (that's not a Disney Prince). I don't want to see the ads mocking my relationship status. It doesn't define me. And why should it? I don't want to see Tweets about "Forever Alone" or have Twitter constantly recommend that I follow "Why I'm Single" and "Single Girl Problems." I don't want what the world is offering me. It's bogus. And I deserve better than that.
Til Next Time,
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