Being single, dating and married with kids

My husband and I had the privilege of being part of a panel of experts who spoke about single, dating and married life.

the dating year. Check out my tan. Haha!

It was a lovely opportunity. I enjoying seeing so many great people present. I hope they felt loved and valued. I say that because when you are in front of a group of people, you really can’t tell what type of impact your presence had. 

I have so many thoughts about the season designed for being single. One thing I know for sure: being single is not a disease and single people deserve respect and admiration. 

I believe that God crafted that season to be rich. There is so much good that happens during the season of singleness if we take advantage of it. 

I shared with the audience that I have never seen myself as an object that needed to be dated - or married. I was told as a child that God had a purpose for my life and that I needed to live out that purpose. I believed those words and I conducted my life that way. I still made mistakes. I have a lot of compassion for people who are in church but whose stories are less than perfect. I find that forgiveness, mercy and love of God are pretty amazing gifts to embrace. 

I never had time to dread being single. I actually got tired of the dating scene. I said “no” to offers of dating relationships because I was aware that the goal for my life was different than the offer on the table. It’s really okay to say no if the direction of your life does not match the proposal in front of you.

Every Valentine’s Day I resurrect my post about how being single that day sucks but single people can be assured that their worth and value is not wrapped around a marital status. Jesus established that on the cross. 

Zeke and I did not have time to explain ourselves fully but we told the audience that the whole “I don’t have time to do anything because I have kids” thing is a myth. At least for us it is. Our children joined our life together, not the other way around. I could go on and on about the great things I do now and I didn’t do them before for some reason. Here is what I know: finding contentment and joy in every season is really smart.

Another thing that people don’t consider is if this is the correct season for them to be in a relationship. Connecting with God and asking Him such question is a wise thing to do. He’s the best on leading us to all truth.

It is normal to desire to be in relationship with someone. I believe God wants to bless our relationships. If we conduct all relationships His way, we have a great possibility to succeed.