Recently, I attended the wedding of a friend of mine. He is a very close friend who has gone to church with me for years and years. He was also the first “close” friend of mine to get married.
While I was at the service (which was beautiful), I couldn’t help thinking about when we were kids. How that seemed so recent, and yet here he was, a grown man, promising the rest of his life to a beautiful woman.
And I was scared in that moment. I was scared that all those jokes about me growing up and being a spinster were not actually jokes. I was scared that maybe I need to stop by the humane society on the way home and pick up my first kitten.
After the wedding was over, I caught up with some old friends from church and was asked several times about the boyfriend situation, asking if I had found my prince charming yet.
The answer was a resounding "no."
I started to think about how my last meaningful relationship with someone was over a year ago. And the fear continued to seep in.
Throughout my life, I’ve always told people I’m fine being single. I like it, even. It takes a lot of stress out of my life that isn’t always wanted. I mean, after all, I’m only 21. Marriage is a long way away and I’ve got plenty of time.
And yet, it seems like (especially on social media), that I’m behind. I haven’t found someone that gives me butterflies when I look at them. That makes me want to spend every moment with them. That physically makes my chest ache when I’m away from him. And sitting at a friends wedding made me a little afraid that I never would.
As I got home and reevaluated the situation, I calmed myself back down. And I once again realized, it’s okay to be single.
It’s totally fine to not have found “Mr. Right” yet. Because, despite how many friends and family have found him/her that has no impact on when I will.
I’m not set back because I’m not in a relationship. I’m not missing out on life. If anything, I’m a little bit more free. I’m free to focus on myself. I’m free to focus on my classes. I’m free to focus on my friends, and getting into Vet school. And most importantly, I’m free to focus on Jesus.
That’s not to say I’m not extremely happy for my friends who have already gotten married, or who have already found their “penguins.” It just means that my timing is different than theirs.
That just means that Jesus has a plan for my life that is different than theirs.
Remember that His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than ours.
If you’re a young adult, and you’re still single, that’s not a cue for you to start lowering your standards. That’s not a cue that something is wrong with you. It’s just that God has someone really special for you that He’s not ready to show you just yet. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
So no, I haven’t found my Prince Charming yet. And that’s OK.
