New Era

Welp, today begins my journey into a dairy free life. I've been having some health issues since I was a kid and over the last few years I've become more and more suspicious that they're dairy related. In an effort to find out once and for all, I'm cutting it out of my life. 

As I've thought about this endeavor and started looking at food labels and such, I've realized that milk is in EVERYTHING! It won't be easy, but I'm hoping it will be worth it. I'm really going to miss cheese though. This is all a part of my efforts to be healthier in my 30s than I was in my 20s. Here we go!

Being Single in the Church

As some of you know, about a month ago, I was not in a very good place emotionally. I'd like to say that life is all sunshine and rainbows today, but the truth is that it's not. I think I have grown some in the last month and my attitude about things has changed some, but life is still an emotional roller coaster. I am so thankful that God is along for the ride though as are some great people that He has placed in my life.

As I was sitting with a good (newlywed) friend this afternoon, we were discussing life and also planning a bachelorette party for another good friend. Both of these are ladies who have walked the single life with me over the last few years and know the struggles that I am experiencing. As hard as it is sometimes, to see people who I've been able to relate to over the last few years move on to new chapters of their lives while I seem to be stuck in this chapter, I am genuinely excited for them and happy to be a part of their lives no matter where my life is at.

Anyway, part of our conversation today was my friend asking how I was doing with church these days. You see, she knew I had been struggling with seeing everyone around me getting married and having kids, and to top things off, our church has been going through a marriage series the last few weeks, and will continue for several weeks ahead...

So, how am I doing? I have my ups and downs. I'm having to cling tight to Jesus through this process. There are good times and not so good times. As we've started this series, God has pointed out how selfish I am and drawn me closer to Him. I have mixed feelings about being single in the church today. I've had some great talks with people, and most importantly, great talks with my Heavenly Father.

I was talking to a friend last weekend about how marriage seems to be a "trendy" topic among Christians today. There seems to be an abundance of books and sermons on the subject all of the sudden. We weren't sure if this is really a new, trendy thing, or if we're just noticing it more because of our circumstances in life. I don't know what the answer is, but I do understand why it is important to talk about and I don't see the need for such talks to end anytime soon. I get that marriage is supposed to be an earthly representation of Christ and the church. As our world gets more sinful, and marriages become more corrupt, we will need to be reminded of what a good, godly marriage should look like more and more often. I totally understand that, yet it doesn't make being single in the church any easier.

For years, I've read books, and heard people say that Jesus was single, therefore singles in the church should not be considered lesser people. I agree, but the reality is, that's not the way things seem to play out in many churches. When was the last time you heard a sermon series preached to single people? I don't know what the answer is, but something has to change. 

That's kinda where I'm at right now. I'm trying to embrace the place that God has me in life right now. With His help, trying to become less selfish, and learn where He has me. It's still hard sometimes. Tomorrow morning, I will wake up, go serve by hanging out with other people's kids, then sit and listen to another sermon about marriage. I don't know where I will be emotionally when I wake up, but I'll be praying that He shows me a way to apply what I'm hearing. 

I'm single and though I don't understand why I am where I am sometimes, I will keep clinging to Jesus and trusting that He has a plan in all of this. I will be praying for married and single people alike and blessing people where I can.