Mandy had always been a planner. She was organized, disciplined, and never missed an opportunity to help someone else. She’d always had a plan for her life from the get-go: raised in a Christian family, homeschooled from kindergarten to high school, surrounded by friends who loved her. When she turned nineteen she would be eligible to marry, but probably wouldn’t get married till she was around twenty-one. Then she would marry a strong Christian guy, have kids, and be a mom. She dreamed of a “normal” life. But then she turned twenty-one. Then twenty-two . . . twenty-three . . . twenty-four . . . and long after her twenty-first birthday her left hand remained ringless. Days turned into months and months into years. Now Mandy is thirty-one. She’s spent the last ten years waiting. She regrets her wasted wait. Sadie had a childhood almost identical to Mandy. A loving family, schooled at home, full of hopes and dreams. When she finished high school, she looked forward to what the future would bring . . . marriage, babies, a home of her own . . . maybe not now but probably by the time she was twenty-one. Her twenty-first birthday came and went. So did her twenty-second and twenty-third. But Sadie didn’t sit around and wait for life to start with “I do.” Sadie was engaged in ministry, pouring into other girls’ lives and helping her family. She’s using her wait to totally honor and glorify her Savior. She’s still not married, but she doesn’t feel the regret of lost opportunities and wasted time. If you’re a girl whose dream is to be a wife and mom, raise your hand (I’m raising mine high!). But what if that doesn’t happen in the time slot we’ve hoped and planned for (or maybe not at all)? Will we just sit around and wait for Prince Charming, or will we use the single years God is giving us to serve, minister, and love others fully?
Flip the Picture
Reverse the roles with me for a second: what if you were going to pursue a guy (just bear with me here), and when you finally found the guy you’d been looking for, he says, “I’m so glad you’re finally here! I’ve been sitting around waiting for you the last five years, haven’t done much of anything with my time, and pined away waiting for you to come and make my life start!” Does that sound like the kind of guy you want to marry? Me neither. As we flip the roles back to their normal place, it leaves us with a question: How are we using our single years as a tool to love others and live life to God’s glory? How can we use this time well instead of treating it like a waiting room? Be intentional. Don’t let any more days pass without a thorough look at your life. What are you spending your time on? Get involved in a ministry, start mentoring younger girls. It’s easy to just “get busy” to fill our time, but instead, we need to be intentional about living in a manner worthy of the calling of Christ (1 Peter 1:13; 1 John 2:28). Be an active waiter. God has given all of us a passion, something we are good at. There is no one who can do what He made you to do. You are unique. Let’s not waste our time looking out the window for our knights in shining armor when God has given us a beautiful life to live, using what He has given us to make a difference (Gal. 6:10; Eph. 5:15–17). Wasting the wait doesn’t make the wait any shorter. God has perfect timing. Always. When we pine away after a guy, all it does is waste time. It accomplishes nothing except regret in years to come (Ps. 27:14; 90:12). God is faithful, and He knows what is best for your life. He wants what’s best for you even more than you do! He hasn’t given us time on earth so we can waste it. What are some ways we can intentionally use our time?