My childhood is peppered with memories of minty gum growing hard under the anxious chewing of "let's take off already!" Bleary eyes staring out the window wondering if maybe now is when we are finally going to stop taxiing and actually take off... Of announcements over the P.A. that it will be another half hour before we can be in the air.
After all the preparation, packing, and excitement, I want to be in the air, closing the gap between home and vacation, English and Hungarian, good friends and beloved family.
More and more I have heard singleness referred to in this same way. Singleness is a waiting time. A time where God is preparing you to be the best wife (or husband) for your future spouse. A time when He is trying to teach you things while you wait for "the one" to arrive in your life -- for the announcement that we're finally going to take off. The wait is over and we're rapidly closing the gap between "hello" and "I do," single life and married life......as if the greatest purpose in life is to arrive at the destination of marriage, NOT to together serve the designer and inventor of marriage, to unite and TOGETHER travel to the ultimate destination of serving God's greater purpose: His glory.
It's not about the special someone in my life who will treat me right and make my dreams come true.
It's about bringing the ultimate Someone the glory He deserves in each and every moment... not about what He's going to do for me.
It's not about becoming the best person I can be for my future spouse. It's about becoming more like Christ.
Singleness is not a time of preparation, waiting for the runway to happiness to clear.
Singleness is a time of action -- to single-mindedly pursue the Lord and exalt Him in each moment, instead of pursuing potential spouses. To fix my eyes on the Author and Perfecter of my faith... with or without a companion at my side.
Even though sometimes it feels like I'm on the runway, anxiously chewing my gum, eyes gazing outside looking for when my life is finally going to take off... I know that my journey started 15 years ago, when I decided to give my "YES" to the Lord.
So I'm not on the runway... I've already taken off, flying toward His destination.
