Love, Brooke
Thoughts On Singleness and Contentment This Valentine's Day
By Lauren Torres
As each passing February day has brought Valentine's Day closer and closer, I will admit that I have been thinking a lot about love, romance, and relationships. I am what you would call a "hopeless romantic". I sigh over romantic movies...whether the hero of the day is Mr. Darcy or Gilbert Blythe. As the movie credits roll and some inspiring film score plays, I am filled with hope and excitement for the future. While I don't believe that it is wrong to look forward to that time in our lives, I do believe that oftentimes singles are guilty of wasting time. And I am including myself in this! I have noticed that we as singles are often looking to the next big thing in our lives to bring us happiness and contentment....finishing school, getting that job, starting a career, beginning a relationship, etc. We focus our time and energies towards that point in time and forget to invest in today.
This can also be applied to the romantic relationships area of our lives. I have known many young people who are so discontent with their lives simply because they do not have that special someone in their lives. They feel incomplete with the intimate companionship of the opposite sex. And yet, when they are finally in that much-desired relationship, they are rarely truly happy, because either the relationship should have never began, or it was started for selfish reasons. Don't waste time! If God has marriage in your future, then this time is precious! You will never have this time back again. This is preparation time for us. There are so many things that you are free to do while you are single that you may not have the opportunity to do once you are married, if God so desires. Don't waste time longing for the future to come--it will come soon enough. I encourage you to use your singleness to serve God with passion. Use your singleness to serve others....family, friends, and church. Focus on growing and building godly friendships with other singles, and encouraging one another in their relationship with Jesus. We as singles will never be truly content in any relationship until we have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. And no, I am not talking about going to church on Sundays, or reading our Bibles for a few minutes and then mumbling a prayer for the day. I am not even talking about missions trips and ministry. I am talking about a intimate, personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe, the One who's mighty hands formed us. The One who knew us before we were even a thought in our parent's minds. Paul writes in Philippians 4:11, "...for I have learned to be content with whatever I have." This is so true. For those who long for romantic relationships and marriage and are not content with their present situation, they will likely be discontent in a relationship or marriage. The romantic earthly love of another person can never compare the love of Jesus. He is the Lover of our souls. He desires to be close to us! We don't deserve His love, yet He longs to be one with us. Jeremiah 31:3 says "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself." I love that! His unfailing love draws us to Him! His love will never fail and never end. Even in good, godly relationships, we will face disappointment at times. Those we love will let us down and hurt. But God promises unfailing love. Let's not be discontent this Valentine's Day! I would encourage you to get alone with the Lord, spend some time talking the King of your heart. He is the greatest romantic...He died so that we might know the beauty and hope of His unfailing love. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). -Lauren
3 comments:
A wonderful post, despite it being late! :) Thanks Lauren and Brooke!
Hi Brooke:
I'm a blogging friend of your mom's. She told me you love to write. I found that writing my blog helps my creative juices continue.
I hope you continue to pursue your dream of writing.
wow this was great. Even for me being in a relationship, I clearly waste time dreaming about my future with Peter (my man <3) when I should be doing so much else... obviously there is a time when that is ok, but there are times when it isn't the best use of my time. Thank you for passing this on!
And on the topic of Jesus as our lover--I just went to my college group and one thing that was discussed was that verse about how even people who do good things, even good Christian things, will stand before Christ and He will either welcome us with open arms or say "I never knew you." The girl who was leading the discussion mentioned how that is a lot like a relationship--you get to know someone and be their friend before you marry them, just as God wants to know us, the church, His bride, before he is united with us in the ultimate intimacy. What an amazing creator we have; what depths there are for us to know! Praise Him!!
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