I'm Certified to Pierce Ears, So What?

Last month, I was asked last-minute to give a devotional at my sister-in-law's baby shower. I was racking my brain as to what "valuable" advice I could give her as well. I put the word, valuable in quotations because I want you, my dear reader (if you actually exist :) ) to think that I am a humble person. I actually do strive for humililty but after ruminating on what I could offer to my dear sister-in-law as a single person, I started to doubt that I had anything valuable to say at all. Here's my line of thinking: Well, I'm not a mom, heck I haven't even been married, who will take me seriously? And boy, those women are going to think I'm arrogant or naive.


Thankfully, I didn't embrace these thoughts for too long because I wouldn't have agreed to share my heart with the women. Let me just say that after much prayer, the Holy Spirit gave me the right words and even my thought process changed.


The world likes you to have a credential or experience for everything before you espouse your opinion. However, this is not the way the Lord works and He brought to mind examples in other areas of my life where this is true. I am a lay counselor at church, I don't have a degree with little letters that follow it but I have been equipped by the Ultimate Counselor-Jesus Christ. I already KNOW that I am not adequate in anything on my own. It hit me: a counselor, therapist, psychologist doesn't have to experience the same thing as their patient in order to be effective, right? If I look at myself as a vessel where the Lord can work through my life, and not the other way around, then the thought process changes. I have to rely on the Lord to give me words, it's not all about me- but it's all about Him. Nothing I say is profound and if it is, to God be the glory even though sometimes my pride would like to take a bit of credit.




It seems that God always uses the poor, weak, pathetic, powerless, inexperienced,unthinkable person to carry out His plan-David fought Goliath, Gideon defeated an entire army, Moses delivered the Isrealites from Pharoah's hand, Rahab hid the spies, Mary bore Jesus, etc. All of these people were inadequate but God used them for His good.

So, as a single person, I spoke at the shower from a different perspective. I looked at my job as an encourager, not someone wrapped up in their inadequacies that could offer little advice. I also applied what I learned from my mom, from my jobs over the years, as a daughter but most importantly, from the Bible.



Even though I am licensed to cut hair professionally, it doesn't mean I can cut hair well. Even though I am not a trained chef, it doesn't mean that I can't cook well. Anything that we do is all from the Lord and when we rely on Him, He will accomplish whatever He wants through us and He will give us strength to do it.

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.-II Corinthians 3:5,6 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.-Philippians 4:13

He is not Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone

This week I realized that I've forgotten what it feels like to long for a husband and long for motherhood. Perhaps it was because I had more time to ponder these things as I was not working or perhaps it was that I spent my week with kids. Today, while I was at the airport, I saw a mom and her three kids waiting to be picked up. When the daughter spotted her dad pulling up in the car, she ran to him and gave him a big hug. He embraced her as well as the other two kids and his wife. I teared up when I saw it.

I was reminded once again that I am not fully satisfied to stay single. While I have looked for ways to make the most of my singleness by becoming more involved with different ministries, my heart still aches with loneliness.

Over the years, I have tried to focus my thoughts on pleasing the Lord rather than indulging in self-pity. However, I still have some spells of sadness. Going to weddings are sometimes difficult to attend-my single status stands out like red ink on a corrected essay. Being around couples who interact with each other, watching movies with love stories, hanging around with women with babies all remind me that I indeed am missing out. As much as I'd like to be, I'm not immune to the yearning feelings.

When trying to overcome these feelings, I am reminded of the Psalms of lament. These Psalms show David when his morale is so low that it seems that one more thing may undo him. It is perfectly normal to experience feelings of sadness, despair, discouragement and hopelessness but turning those feelings to absolute praise and joy makes the Believer different. I know that the Lord has perfectly orchestrated my life and whatever has or hasn't happened is because He has caused it. Amos 3:6 reminds us of His absolute sovereignty, He is not a passive God who puts His hands on His cheeks like Macaulay Culkin in "Home Alone" as if to say "ahhh, oh no, what have I done?!" No, my God is all powerful, perfect in every way, all knowing and His love completes me. Marriage, relationships, romance are just a blip on the eternal spectrum and if true worship of my Savior is not my first priority, then my worship is not sincere devotion to a jealous God.

When I have the perspective that the Lord is sovereign in EVERYTHING, I must make a choice in my response: either throw a fit, complain and wallow in my pity party or re-focus, have a heart of thanksgiving, praise Him for the good and the bad and truly worship Him. I am reminded of Job who lost everything-10 kids, his possessions, integrity, health, etc. and after all of these calamities, he still worshipped the Lord. Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.And he said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." -Job 1:20-21

My life of loneliness is NOTHING compared to Job or even what Jesus felt on the cross when the Father looked away or when the disciples abandoned Him while He suffered for my sins. My plight of singleness is a blip on the spectrum of the eternity I will spend with my Master in heaven someday. With that, I choose to worship the God of all comforts even if my single status is permanent.