When you are single, everyone likes to give you advice.
I should change my hair, change my religion, change my career. I should pack up all my change and spend more time at the Laundromat. (That's my favorite). It's also an awful lot of rearranging.
And if it's not advice, it's 'I'm sorry' - as in 'I feel so sorry for you because you're still single'. And that raises a few questions. Do you think those words make me feel good? Do you think because something hasn't happened yet that it never will? At the end of my life, will I be more proud of my marital status, or that I ran the race well?
The God who created the universe laid down the blueprints of my life *before* the foundation of time. Pretty important stuff. And when it's over, the two of us will look back together at what I built, husband or no husband.
Will have I made the tough choices, trusting the architect knows best? Will I have shown others the love he has shown me? I won't be satisfied until he knows I can be counted on to help those around me see their worth through his eyes - because look at the value he's *already* placed on me.
Sometimes, the pity and advice are combined, as in 'It's okay to hope, but don't hope too much, ya know, just in case...'
Just a couple months ago, I was staring down three job offers in one week, and found myself walking away from a job I had been praying and hoping for - for years - because after I let God do what he does best, it was no longer good enough for me. I would have loved for the answer to come sooner, but when I look at where I am now, and I see all the details that were worked out before I arrived on the scene, I understand the reason for the wait.
And this was just a job. How much more carefully do you think he takes care of our hearts?
Here's the thing - that God, the one holding the blueprints, and the universe, and the foundation of time - you either believe he can do anything or you don't. When it comes to us and the love he has for us, there are no categories for our dreams as if we should expect some not to happen because they are too hard for him.
If he loves us enough to sacrifice his only son, then all bets are off. I would never pity someone who was loved that much.
By design, in life and in love, the grand scheme doesn't leave a lot of room for sorry.