The Price of Sacrifice

Do you know what is means to sacrifice something? I bet you have made a sacrifice and let someone have the last morsel at Christmas or sacrificed a few moments and held the door open for someone.

Yet we are reminded of the ultimate sacrifice... Christ on a cross. I read some of Leslie Ludy's Sacred Singleness over the holidays. In one section she references Corrie ten Boom who says that many people walk around with self in their hearts, leaving Christ on that cross instead of Christ in our hearts and self on the cross. I was reminded of this may times over the holidays as we exchange gifts and catch up with friends and family. How often do we seek out things because of selfish desires and leave Christ on the cross? When did a promotion, a new phone or car, better house, nice clothes or shoes, or a spouse become so important that we put Christ on a cross and left self in the driver's seat?

Did the last part catch you? Have you been hung up on finding someone to share your life with that you were going out of your way to catch someone's eye? I know I have caught myself in the past fussing over clothes or hair when I thought a potential date might be in attendance. Then I feel miserable like I mentioned in the last post. My mind knows that this isn't how I'm supposed to live. However, our world seems to be telling us we have to have someone and fast!, that we can't buy a house as a single person (wait I already did that!) or that we can't live to 26 as a single (done that too!). Our world, even some of the Christian world want us to focus on finding just the right person to share our lives with instead of fulfilling our need to have Christ first in our lives. The Christian world even attempts to mask this by focusing on finding a good Christian guy, but in reality if Christ isn't first, we have missed the mark.

Leslie Ludy even counters this attitude by focusing on the fact that God is indeed a jealous God and there are countless examples in the Bible where God preferred us to be single and focused on Him rather than to be paired off and focused so much on the people around us that He gets left out. Is God first in your life? Are you seeking a potential mate more than you are seeking your Creator?

I'm learning to let God fill my life instead of focusing on all the things I want or think I need. Try it. Turn to God, pour out your heart to Him the next time you feel like turning to a person on this earth. Let God fulfill his promise to be your everything... this is a slow process, especially if you are used to having the world meet your needs. It is also a daily act of surrender, a small price to pay for the sacrifice given on our behalf.

Season... really?

So, I realize the title is a little cheesy, but let's face it... We've all hoped that this thing called singleness is just a phase or season that we are going to pass through. Until a few weeks ago, I didn't realize that I'm approaching the ten year mark of my season of singleness. Oh no, I let the cat out of the bag!!! I don't usually throw this out in casual conversation for fear someone will see it as their duty to set me up with someone. However, I tell you now so that you understand I'm not someone to be pitied or adored. I'm just an average young woman trying to follow God's will and live my life accordingly.

Through this blogging journey I hope you understand that you are not walking this path alone and that there are plenty of people willing to support you. I'm going to be walking through a book by one of my favorite authors - Leslie Ludy. Whether you are single, married, or whatever, Leslie has a way of speaking to you in a plain and blunt way that gets through. I would recommend her and her husband's books to anyone (Eric Ludy). They are quite the couple and have an awesome love story only God could pen.

So now that I have stopped gushing over Leslie, let me tell you about "Sacred Singleness". This is a phrase Leslie uses as well as the title of one of her books. While most of us don't want to go there, singleness is a time to cherish and grow in the Lord. More importantly, we should be focused on growing in the Lord instead of attracting the next hot guy who is going to follow us around for a few weeks before he moves on to the next hot thing. Many Christian and non-christians miss the mark completely, thinking they can just live a good life and God is going to give them the perfect significant other and the perfect little house and family. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, it doesn't quite work like that for everyone.

Now you could be like my sister, instant attraction to Mr. Right... engaged in less than three months, wedding in under a year. Sometimes things do just fall into place and work to the benefit of those who trust in the Lord. Don't get me wrong, my sister and her fiance both have weathered the various storms of life and worked hard to become the individuals they are today. But for some of us, we work hard for the Lord everyday, trying to trust Him, waiting patiently (sometimes) for Him to lead and at the end of the day, we're still asking the Lord to send us our helpmate.

If there is anything I've learned from my ten years, it is never stop asking. In Matthew 7:7 the Bible says, "Ask and you will receive, Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will be opened to you." So, whether your singleness last a few weeks, months, or years, never stop asking for the desires of your heart. The Lord wants to give us those desires; however, we need to trust that his plans are better than ours. Tonight I'm going to close with probably the most quoted verse to our generation.

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Remember you are not walking this journey alone, the Lord is with us every step of the way. Be a strong Godly woman, asking the Lord for the desires of your heart, but listening for His guidance.