What Do You Embrace?

What is it about being single that you embrace? Embrace: figurative…to take up; take for oneself; accept. What is it about being a single woman do you accept? I ask this question because I’ve noticed that single women who are unhappy have a root issue of non-acceptance of being single. But once we can “embrace” our singlehood then life can be so much better.

We all embrace something in our lives, beyond our Christianity. Too often we find ourselves embracing things of the world versus things of God. Whether good or bad, as humans we embrace cultures, theories, religions, Sin, reality TV, ways of dressing, speaking, looking, I mean the list goes on forever. So, again, “What is it that you embrace about being single?” I know that’s a tough question for some, because you really don’t embrace singlehood. In fact there are those of you who loathe the fact that you don’t have a man. You beg and plead with God every chance you get for a husband, while your days just quietly slip away not being lived to their fullest. But then there are those of us who love being single and “embrace” it wholeheartedly. Yet why is it so hard for those who embrace the single life to convince their unhappy single sisters how great it is? The culprit seems to be a hardened heart. Just because you are a Believer, doesn’t mean we don’t have places in our hearts that are not still stony and hard.

Our human nature and flesh love to go against what God says. It is a battle that Jesus instructs us to pray about in Matthew 26:4. So when we set our minds (souls) to what we want it is rather hard to be persuaded to something else. It seems almost impossible at times to try to get unhappy single women to see the benefits of the single life in Christ. I fault both the Church and the world for that. But you ladies don’t get off totally free either. The Church really does not promote and uplift single women. And even the individual church congregations are not much better. You have so many married women in the Body worrying single women as to when are they are going to get married? Or what they need to do to try to hook a husband. The church congregations are so very concerned for married couples (like they are the, be-all to end-all) and have plenty to help them grow in their marriages. But that same church will not have Women’s Bible Study or anything of substance for single women to help them grown and flourish in who they are. And the sad thing is most are not really interested in making a place for single women. Churches basically have, married couples groups, youth groups, children’s church and seniors groups. But what about us single gals? And we cannot all be lumped together either. You have your young women, widows, middle aged women, and in this diversity there are different struggles. Jesus was very concerned about single women just read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Now the world is crazy and is on its way to judgment and hell, but we still follow behind so much of what they do. We make a steady diet of feeding off their foolishness. The world says that everyone should have somebody. You can be an adulteress and share someone’s husband, and when you get caught, you are rewarded with a reality TV show, a book deal or magazine spread. You might even be able to sue your former lover and get rich off of him….or her! If you are tired of men, then you should try being loved by another woman, and if that doesn’t really float your boat then try a young boy. We love the soaps, reality shows of misbehaving fouled mouth women…and joke “Well, that is my one vice...LOL!!” But all of this craziness that we keep feeding on only adds to the fuel of our flesh warring against the Spirit of God.

Okay sisters, it’s your turn. You have to want to be more in tune with what God says about your life. You have to make choices that are better for you spiritually. If you are one who is always hanging around married couples and this causes you to covet their lives, then it is time to do something different. If you TiVo the soaps and watch them every day, it is time to give then up. They only confuse you and make you desire things that are make believe. So, again I ask, “What is it that you embrace about being single?” For all of you who are single and not experiencing joy in your singlehood; it is time to re-evaluate what it is that you are embracing in life. Are you embracing what the Word of God says about being single in His Kingdom, or are you embracing the foolishness of the world and others?

I have a 3 week challenge for you. Pick an hour TV show that you watch every evening or day, Monday through Friday and replace watching that show with reading your Bible, praying, listening to Word messages (via cds, mp3 or internet), or listening to Christian music that will minister to your soul. Pick your most favorite shows that are off the hook! Pick a show you know is so far from anything God says, or that show that makes you long for things you don’t have. Now your flesh is going to rebel, because we know how we act when the cable or satellite dish goes out for a day or two. But we also know that we didn’t die because we didn’t have TV for awhile, so one show each evening, 5 times a week is not going to kill you. In fact, I am prayerful it will help you to let go of things you have been embracing that are harmful and begin to embrace that which is good in your singlehood.

So please take the challenge!


Love & Hugs
Ponnie

Hope to sit with you again on Wednesday, November 10th.


Thursday's Blog: Ponnie, "Homeschooling Granny"