Again, please stop asking when I'm going to get married!

Around 2 years ago, I wrote a blog post called 'Please stop asking me when I'm going to get married!' ...shortly afterwards the guy I'd written about in that post; the one whom the ladies at church had been winking at(!), asked me to be his girlfriend. We've had the most wonderful months since then, getting to know one another and doing our best to figure out how we do this 'dating' thing as Christians in a way that best honours God and honours each other. 

So for those who kept asking me when I was going to meet 'a nice young man,' I now can point them in the direction of my best friend - a 'nice young man' who's love for God drew my heart to his.

...but the question hasn't gone away, and with our lives becoming more and more filled with news of friends' engagements, weddings and even babies, it only seems to be becoming all the more frequent.

As though maybe we've made such a big decision and chosen not to tell you...?!

I love this 'nice young man' with all my heart, and I can't imagine a future without him, but if we choose to spend that future together, it's likely to last a long time... so I'd rather know that we've both taken the time we need to be sure of our choice to love one another for the entirety of it. And until then, I'd rather spend the present living in the present. 

I know your question is well meant; a desire to celebrate with us? A gentle nudge towards what you think will be a great life for us? ...but in all honesty, it's not helping with that whole 'living in the present' thing.

Thank you; genuinely, for your well meant thoughts. But can I suggest something else? 

Next time you want to ask whether that question has been asked, ask us instead what we're learning about love. Ask us what we're learning about Jesus through one another. Ask us how we're doing with figuring out the way we're choosing to date as Christians.

...the truth is, our lives are about more than our relationship status (thank God!). Married or not, we will have good days and bad days, we will be learning and growing, hoping and dreaming, struggling and celebrating. We will be running towards Jesus and doing our best to live our lives in the way that he designed us to live them... and we'd love to share them with you!

Please stop asking me when I'm going to get married!

I recently brought a male friend to church, and he told me later that afternoon that people were winking at him during the service! We laughed, but I was actually disgusted by what this reflects of a much deeper issue. 

Some day, I would love to meet and marry a godly man who God wants me to 'do life' with. Right now though, I have no idea who that man is and believe it or not, that's okay and I'm happy!

I don't always love being single - my closest friends can definitely vouch for that. But the truth is that my life is about so much more than my relationship status. My life is great and I am so blessed and I am so happy. I live and work in a beautiful part of the world where I get to hang out with young people and introduce them to Jesus. I live close enough to the beach to just go there spontaneously for an evening. I have real meaningful friendships with wonderful people all around the world, many of whom I get to enjoy so much time with. I have a fantastic, supportive and loving family... I am blessed in so many ways, and just because I don't have a ring on my finger doesn't mean that I'm not happy or whole.

The thing is, especially in Christian circles, there is so much pressure. Even when people don't say it as bluntly, the message is the same; "when are you going to meet a nice boy and start a relationship?" I can't count how many people have actually said to my face that I should get a boyfriend.

"Oh do you think so? Okay, I'll go find one this afternoon!"

Telling me that I should get a boyfriend isn't going to make me get one - it's just going to make me believe that without one, I'm not enough. Asking me when I'm going to get married isn't going to make me find my husband, it's just going to make me wish that I'd already met him. Telling me that when you were my age you were already married and had a child is only going to make me feel like you think I'm somehow getting life wrong.

A man will not complete me - Jesus will. So if you want to talk relationships, ask me how my relationship with Jesus is going. Ask me what God has put on my heart lately. Ask me what I'm learning and what I'm struggling with and what I'm enjoying in my life.

Song of songs says repeatedly "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires". And I plan not to. My life started 21 years ago - and for most of those 21 years I have been single, and God has been using me, and I have been having a brilliant life. Some day, I hope to meet a godly man who I can begin a relationship with and eventually marry. But I will continue to be me and to be used by God, the difference will be that I will have the blessing of sharing that with my husband. But until then, I will continue to enjoy my life as a happy, blessed and fulfilled person.

So please, please, stop telling me and my single brothers and sisters that you were married at our age. Please stop asking us when we're going to begin a relationship. Please stop asking us whether we've found a 'nice young man (or girl)'. When we do, and we want you to know about it, we will let you know.

Why teenagers can be some of the most inspirational people you'll meet

I feel so blessed to work with the young people that God has put in my life... they're all incredible, beautiful, loving people and although sometimes they act like the young teenagers that everyone expects them to be, they so often they just blow me away with their maturity and wisdom when I give them my time and the opportunity to show it.

Being 13 is really hard; I wouldn't want to go back and battle my way through all the dramas of secondary school again, but looking back I know that I actually had it really easy compared to some of these girls that I work with. As if growing up in itself isn't hard enough, some kids can be so cruel to each other, some homes aren't the kind of places that you'd really want to spend much time, some families are broken in unimaginable ways and some young people have to deal with so much that most people don't even know about.

The girls that I work with are incredible. Behind all the giggles and teenage drama are a bunch of young girls who are navigating their way through life as they start to become young women. They think deeply and love passionately and hurt terribly and care strongly. 
They have hopes and dreams and they're desperate to grow into young women who will not only fulfill their dreams but to help others too.

Ultimately, they just want to love and to know that they are loved and all they're trying to do is figure out how to make sure that that is a reality. Love is such a powerful thing and I've seen massive transformation in some young people just by having people in their lives who choose to genuinely believe that they are amazing and to tell them that.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that my young people blow me away. Most of the time that I spend with them is filled with games, hot chocolate and giggles... but every now and then, one of them will come out with a little gem and tell me something, or ask a question, or do something that reminds me quite how deeply they think, care and love. I praise God that he would give me the privilege of watching him work in these beautiful, incredible young lives.