By: Jenna Martin
The Waiting Room
I have always been the kind of person that wants to be in a relationship. For most of my life I found singleness to be intensely painful because, to be honest, it felt like the waiting room where you sit until some guy enters the picture and your real life starts.
For most of my life I felt like I was in that waiting room.
I’ll start out by telling you a secret: I was believing a lie from the enemy. The truth is, God doesn’t put His children in waiting rooms. Real life begins once we start following Him.
About a year ago God started working in this area of my heart. As strange as it may sound, He was coaching me in how to be single. I want to share with you some of the things I did that helped the process and made my future relationship better at the same time.
1) I didn’t make a “list.”
“What do you look for in a guy?”
I’m not even sure how many times I either asked or was asked that question during high school and college. It seems harmless enough—a girl can dream, right?
The flip-side is that the person we are describing when we answer that question does not exist. We are creating them in our minds like a book character.
I stopped making these lists because God was asking me to completely trust Him that a) He would allow me to meet someone someday and b) that his person would be someone I would like (God wants us to like our spouses and significant others!). He’s used Matthew 7:11 more than once to remind me that He had something good in store for me:
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
My “list” eventually came down to two bullet points:
- Someone who loves God
- Someone I am attracted to
Without a list, my boyfriend didn’t have some abstract concept to live up to, and I didn’t have some fictional character to compare him to. I can just love him and appreciate him exactly the way he is.
(This devotional is going to BLESS your life. Click below to grab your copy of Lord, Prepare Me to Be a Godly Wife!)
2) I got rid of my “grass is greener” mentality.
There’s a lie running absolutely rampant in the Christian community, and it’s the lie that being in a relationship only has pros, and singleness only has cons. You know what people who are married or in relationships don’t always tell you?
Doing life with another person is hard.
Sure, it’s great, but it’s so much harder than only having to take care of and accommodate yourself. Sometimes another person’s dreams conflict with yours.
Or maybe certain things about their personality conflict with yours.
Sometimes they even…gasp…hurt your feelings.
I had a friend who was willing to divulge the more difficult parts of her marriage to me, and I will always be grateful to her for that. It helped me get away from my “grass is greener” mentality.
God once put a question in my head that stuck with me: What if the grass doesn’t ever get any greener than the grass I have you in now?
He wasn’t trying to steal my hope; He was opening up my eyes to the lush greenness of where I already was. He was letting me know that if I was discontent in singleness, I was going to be discontent with a guy.
Contentment is a lifestyle, and so is discontentment.
Striving to live a life of contentment has allowed me to see how truly great my boyfriend is. It has allowed me to see the beauty of our relationship rather than compare us with other couples, and it has allowed me to look back at my time as a single person and be truly grateful that it happened…not grateful that it’s over.
3) When I felt lonely, I prayed.
I did a lot of praying for my future husband. Of course, I didn’t know for sure that I was going to get married, but statistically it was likely, and so I prayed for him. Eventually I made a pretty smooth transition from praying for a faceless guy, to praying for my “friend,” to praying for my boyfriend. When we started dating, I was already in the habit of praying for him. It felt so right that I feel I would be amiss not to recommend that you try it out.
During these prayer sessions I didn’t stop there. I prayed for everything I could think of: friends, family, myself and my own future. Each time I also made sure to include a prayer for contentment and fulfillment exactly where God had me.
(Click below to grab your copy of 31 Days of Prayer for Your Future Husband)
He listened.
I started praying for contentment right around the time singleness stopped feeling painful.
4) I went all in with other areas of my life.
I dedicated time to building up my friendships and getting better at my hobbies. This was right about the time I got serious about my blog and about writing in general.
Aside from being a more interesting person to be around, pressing into your friends and hobbies will make life more enjoyable.
Every time I talk about singleness, I feel like I’m not done until I use the word “stewardship.” Around a year ago I became very aware that I had more time (since I wasn’t dedicating any to a relationship) and I needed to steward that time well.
I highly recommend stewarding it by doing big, crazy things for God, since you don’t have anyone you’re responsible to. While I was single I applied for my dream ministry internship (which I got!), did missions in a foreign country for a summer, and started planning a future that was all mine, free from anyone else’s input.
I figured out what I wanted my life to look like, at least vaguely, and from there I was able to keep watch for someone who might be able to keep up! And when I found him, it kept me from making him the only, or at least most important, thing in my life.
5) I prioritized Jesus.
While I was single I focused on getting to know Him and His love better. I grew in my prayer life, learned about the Bible, and devoted myself to the things He was calling me to. It got to the point where I only wanted a guy in my life if he enhanced my feelings of closeness with God.
When I finally found that, it was the sweetest thing in the world.
Something I had to learn the hard way is that a relationship with another person—no matter how awesome that person is—will never completely satisfy. It can’t. We have a God-sized hole in our hearts, and it is unfair to expect another human to fill it.
The only thing that can satisfy the human heart is the One who created it. He loves, satisfies, understands, and cherishes like nothing else can, and He is the only One who will never, ever disappoint.
He is extending to all of us the opportunity to go on a wonderful adventure: the adventure of knowing Him. All we have to do is say yes.
And that is more important than anything else in this world.
About the author: My name is Jenna Martin and I run a blog over at jennalynnmartin.com. I’m a senior at Texas A&M studying youth development. I hope to work in youth ministry full-time someday, but I also want to write full-time, so we’ll see what happens! Some things I absolutely adore include writing, cats, sunrises, and making people laugh.
Do you need prayer? Leave a comment below!
Very helpful. I have been been divorced 12 years and none of my other relationships worked out. I have know let Jesus take the wheel and I fully trust him to bring me the one He has chosen for me. In the mean time ain’t pray alot silently and out loud many people prob think I’m talking to myself and I’m crazy but oh well lol. I enjoy where I am and I’m trying to bloom where I’m planted.
I thoroughly enjoyed the article, been single for 19 years next months, used to hate it, but I’m starting to embrace, went back to school 2 years ago and just relocated back to my hometown of Columbia, SC after being evacuated from North Myrtle Beach SC because Hurricane Florence.
Thank you. May I ask how long were you single?
Hey, Nora! At that point it had been about 3 years. Recently my boyfriend and I ended our relationship and I’m actually single again now, so only God can really say how long it will be this time! 🙂
Amen be blessed dear for that good basic to us single
Thanks dear for such a wonderful good basic for us single.
Please pray for me.
Thank you for all the inspiring words. Really, I am blessed! Thanks be to God. May I ask for a prayer to have a partner olin life.
Thank you,
Mila
Hello! Great article. I am single and praying for my future mate. I pray for the best God has ! I appreciate all prayers !
Thank you for sharing your story here. I’m always praying to God that he will give me a man that love him first (God), his family and my family.
Jenna, I needed to hear these things. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences about where and how God has led you. You’ve really given me a fresh perspective and I’m so thankful for that!
-Emily