DOES IT FEEL LIKE EVERYONE IS DATING SOMEONE?

 

You are in a hard situation. I know. I remember it well-everyone dating or getting married. God had me wait until I was 27 before He brought my beloved, Brian. Brian was almost 31 when we married! We both had walked through the pain of loneliness as we waited for God to answer our prayers. We both had committed to waiting for not a “good” possible spouse but the “best” possible spouse He had for us.-if we would trust Him and His plan.  

How can we walk through the season of singleness that God has allowed in our lives? Because Jesus is the ultimate LOVE OF OUR LIFE, we have to start with the truth of His love for us.  After understanding His unchanging love for us, we can lean into His perfect will as we wait. It’s true. We all walk this road at some time. I think of 2 recent friends of mine just starting down the path of widowhood, or divorced single friends in their 30’s & 40’s, college women, and high school gals all in a season of learning to live alone. It helps to accept this stage of loneliness. Every human alive has dealt with this emotion. It can hurt, but it’s endurable by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus was lonely, Paul was lonely, my widow friend is lonely. It’s hard when it seems like others are seeing their dreams happen while you WAIT.  I sit down & realize that JESUS is the only answer to my thirst and that He hears my prayers. Then, I actively trust.

  1.  REALIZE YOUR TRUE ETERNAL IDENTITY...You are not only a wife, girlfriend, “b.f.f.”, mother, CPA, CFO, or VIP. If you know Jesus Christ, you are a DAUGHTER of the KING. This is the ONLY identity that will STICK with you for the rest of eternity!   Everything else is transitory….every phase changes and all people change.  “JESUS is the same yesterday, today and forever”. Even if the world or other people change,  God keeps His promises. You are His and truly only His…forever!
  2.  STAY IN THE WORD AND HANG WITH LIKE-MINDED WOMEN.. Really & truly, there ARE women who don’t just talk about men, clothes, and reality television!   ASK HIM & BELIEVE BOLDLY for faithful, pure, and godly gal pals and then,  revel in the glory of the PERFECTION OF CHRIST with your eyes calmly waiting for opportunities but locked into Kingdom priorities. If it is His will (“good, acceptable and perfect”) He will be the Eternal Delivery Man and you will see His plan for your life unfold. Trust Him now…HE is building you from the inside out.

8 Replies to “DOES IT FEEL LIKE EVERYONE IS DATING SOMEONE?”

  1. Yes ma’am. Thanks for the Truth. Even though I am married and have four children AT HOME all day, I still struggle with loneliness. It sure does help to draw near to the Lord and stand firm in my TRUE identity.
    love!

  2. Thanks for this, Tristie. Reminds me of something my wise daughter Amy said: “There is a difference between longing and discontent.” It is possible for me to long to be “not alone” and at the same be content. God Himself declared Adam’s aloneness to be “not good” and by design we are meant to be paired. But while we single folks are longing for a companion, we can (to paraphrase Paul), learn to be content in whatever state–single or married. I have also discovered a blessing resulting from aloneness and that is that Jesus is very truthfully my best Friend. When something is on my mind, He is the first one I want to talk to. That has not always been the case.
    Sorry for the longwinded comment…you got me going, Tristie! 🙂

  3. Great post.

    When I got married, I didn’t want to forget what it was like to be single for several years. Now that my daughters are single, I’m having a hard time remembering those years over 20 years ago…but God is bringing back some of those feelings. I’ll pass this on to them.

  4. Tristie,
    I just saw your comment on my blog, no telling how long it’s been there before I noticed it. Sorry! I’m excited about your blog. I’ll definitely have to bookmark you so I can check back often.

    We miss you guys and CS!! I hear great things about Grace still through the grapevine. Glad things are going well for you and your family.

  5. Hi Tristie – I just found your blog through a friend and bookmarked it so I can read it often! 🙂 This is really neat and just wanted you to know of how sweet this post is…and spoken with such truth.

    I came to the realization a few years into my time here in CA that the things I find “most difficult” in my current and momentary phase of life (as are always changing) are also those very things that I find myself thanking the Lord for with overwhelming gratitude because through prayer and reflection I can see how the Lord graciously uses those difficult situations to mold and shape us into the person he wants us to be.

    For me, my current phase of life of singleness is one of those life situations that is most difficult but also the single event that I’m most thankful for. Your post reminds me of that…thanks for such an aweomse blog! I’m going to pass this link on to other women in my church!

    Great to stay connected with you through this blog…..Love, Allison

  6. You mention Billy Graham and his lonliness at the loss of his wife. The lonlieness felt by widows such as myself can be overwhelming. I have young children that require much of my time and energy and leaves me with little time to focus on my Lord for my healing. Your blog is so important. Keeping my focus on my heavenly Father is what gets me through every day and the dark times when I miss my husband. Thanks for the encouragement.

  7. Tristie, I loved reading your “Catch me if you can” post on forgiveness. Thanks for letting me know about it! The little boy’s statement was indeed a powerful witness to the pleasing aroma of Christ. It makes me think of Jesus’ desire that we have “faith like a child.” Oh to see the world through their eyes! I have been blessed by the power of fast forgiveness as I have worked through years of pain that my dad and I experienced relationally. It is all because of Christ that we have a growing and loving relationship again. I am taken back to the cross, however, tonight to learn from the Master how to forgive the transgressions of others which I haven’t yet fully forgiven. To realize that I am FREE drives me to give others that same freedom that Christ has given me. Thanks!! ~Libby

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