I have recently seen so many of my single, christian friends post the same four blogs/articles on Facebook about how we have such an epidemic in the church. All of them talk about how we have sold this generation of young women on the idea that God has promised us a husband and so we must wait.
The first time I read one, it encouraged me that I was not alone. The second time, I was inspired to live better. The third, something didn't quite strike my heart right. And tonight, as I read a blog, I felt rejected and shamed by it.
Because honestly:
I want a husband. I want children. I want a family.
To say that I have a passion for family is an understatement.
Truth time:
I have an embarrassingly long spreadsheet of baby names (and meanings) on my computer. I keep a running list of the best sippy cups/pacifiers/etc. in my head from many years of babysitting.
I make faces at kids in grocery stores and restaurants.
I pray for my future husband. I pay attention to awesome relationships and try to see what makes them work.
And is that so wrong of me?
I have a job that I love and I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be and I live my life every day loving my King and Father and trying to love others as He does.
I am happy.
So here is what drives me absolutely bonkers:
When God gives a young woman a passion for orphans and she works to get a degree in social work and then raises support to go live in Africa, we consider he strong, charitable, and in the will of God.
When God gives a young woman a passion to teach and she gets her degree and then goes to work in a poor school in the inner-city, she is praised for her heart and abandon for the will of God.
When God gives a young woman a passion for business and works to become the CEO of a company and then blesses those around her with her wealth, we consider her of amazing strength and will and favor.
When God gives a young woman a passion for music and she hones her craft until she is able to usher people into the presence of God as she is so in tune with His heart and is so skilled, she is praised for both her skill and her heart.
But when God gives a young woman a passion for family and tries to work toward her dream of having a family of her own to bless and lead toward the heart of the Father, why is that unworthy of the call of God?
I realize that many young girls put a romantic relationship above the love of the Lord in their lives; but I just have to stand up for those of us who love God with all of hearts but He has placed a passion inside of us to build Godly families.
To be clear, I'm not waiting on a husband or family to walk forward in my relationship with God or to play the part He has for me in advancing His Kingdom and His love on this earth. But to say that I've stopped waiting on those things at all isn't true because they are something that God has truly given me a desire for and I don't believe God gives those passions randomly and without plans for them.
I like waiting. Waiting on God to fulfill the dreams He's given me is a pretty regular thing. I have got to do a lot of cool, exciting things while waiting on different things.
From Ephesians 4:
"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
There is a lot of truth that should be spoken about the need for women to put Jesus not only as our first hope but as our only hope.
However, let's speak these truths in love, not judging and remembering that God works in ways greater than we can ever imagine and it might just be okay for some to desire, and, yes, even "wait on", a husband. It might even be what God had planned all along.
Waiting,
Sarah
