The Simmering Romanticism of Singleness

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Why is having an amazingly full life contingent upon having a mate? I've pondered more now than ever before. I can see how someone who has already been blessed to enter courtship would view this as true--But, what of those of us who have entered into a later stage in life (whatever stage you are in), and have yet to connect with eyes that are different from our own, at the right place and time? Shall we abandon all hope for a life full of worth and passion?

I've decided that twenty thirteen is the year that I stop pining for romance, and instead think of what romance already envelopes my life. What if there is a simmering romanticism in singleness because the adventure is ours and ours alone? Though the calling of being with someone carries it's own weight and courage, what if that path is an easier life, and those who forge this life on their own, an act of bravery? Not a lifestyle to be pitied.

Those who know me know that I've imbibed romance from a babe, believing that life without such cannot be born. But, I've realized that the Lord purposely knitted my life partially the opposite of what is ideal. And even more, He completed me (and you) {Colossians 2:10} so that when a good man does come around, I will not look to him to perform a task that is not humanly possible. Placing all of my hopes and dreams on his shoulders. I've come to think that because God has completed me, and not allowed me to cross paths with the one I think I need, perhaps, he is not who I need to have an unbelievably romantic life. When I think of romance, aside from the obvious chivalric picture synonymous with the term, I think of passion, living in the moment, going for this life with every bit inside of you. Of connecting with people, whether, on a romantic or platonic level, in a way that could change lives.

What if the romanticism of singleness is that, if we're doing it right, we get to impact and connect with more lives than just one. This year, I embrace the blessings that God has given me through singleness: The world is wide and mine for the taking. I can unfold a map and fly on without restraint. I can steep myself in reveries that need only God's approval, and dedicate life to achieving them. I can cause wide smiles to  crease the faces of strangers and never take a break. I want to travel to Brittany, a coastal town in France, and make a best friend. I want to perform one hundred ukulele videos because each one is a kickbox with fear, and I'm winning. Most importantly, I've a life to spend giving God glory, this will never change. I have a novel to write and stories to tell, and I'm sure that you are teeming with an adventure to rival The Lord of The Rings.

There is a marvelous statement by J.R.R. Tolkien, that not all who wander are lost. I cannot wait for my true love to come before I see and seize the beauty all around me. Maybe "having it all" isn't always what we thought it was. Perhaps it is whatever you make that "all" to be. As you're waiting for your great love, don't forget to take off your shoes and race into the glorious foaming surf.