Valentine’s Day 2023
PSA: stop telling single women we’re not doing enough to find a spouse.
So many of us are in various stages of the search, taking a break from the search, or content but hopeful.
You don’t know what a woman has experienced that’s led her to where she is.
“Put yourself out there” is a directive that has long since worn out its welcome.
We are active in our communities, running businesses, and traveling the world. It doesn’t even apply.
And stop throwing around online dating like it’s a one-size-fits-all, one-stop shopping, magic bullet.
It might not be right for everyone and there are so many factors to consider when investing energy into strangers on the internet, beyond casual social media interactions.
When you’re married, no one is asking you what it is or why it is. You’re free to navigate the twists and turns as you both change and grow.
We are no different - we deserve the freedom and respect to navigate the journey we are on, and above all else, to just be able to LIVE.
Without the pressure. Without the time tables. Without the assumptions.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some calls to make.
Rest as a Rule
Cancer forced me into rest with an immediacy and a totality I had never experienced before.
More than just giving myself a break, it was a breaking. An all-systems shutdown. And I believe it was for more than just that season.
I’ve learned to experience rest as a rule, rather than the exception.
It’s not laziness or apathy, and it’s not a disregard for purpose, but a knowing where control really lies - it’s not with me.
I don’t have all the answers and I’m not supposed to. I can’t do everything, and I shouldn’t try to. I was never created to carry the weight of the world, or the weight of others’ expectations, on my shoulders. I’m not here to keep up with anyone else.
What today’s culture says I should be obsessed with obtaining usually tastes like empty calories for my soul: good going down, but no lasting nourishment.
God sees every major turn of events long before the calendar turns a page. He is not sidelined or shipwrecked by the surprises of life, or by my fear of them, and since I’m carried by Him, neither am I.
I can rest because He never does.
He leads with a gentleness and a kindness not otherwise known, but so often we run ahead to manifest solutions He already has - if we would just still ourselves long enough to listen.
So before we rush into the year like all our dreams and aspirations have caught on fire, let’s not forget the simple rhythms of rest He’s trying to teach us.
He already provided the way. All we have to do is walk in it.
Jeremiah 6:16