“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 29:11).
The plans I had for myself started around college age when I was planning out my whole life: married at 28, a couple of kids a few years after that, then the traditional happy life. I had it all figured out.
The only problem was it was all about me and didn’t include what God planned my life to be. But God is faithful all the time.
Relationships came and went, but there were no connections strong enough for marriage. I thought I was a Christian, attending and being actively involved in a local Lutheran church, but I was still living my life the way I wanted to live. But God is faithful all the time.
My world changed when I started attending Covenant Fellowship Church in 2000. Yes, I was still a single woman, but this time things were different. God was drawing me near to him and I could feel his presence. God is faithful all the time.
Sometime between 2000 and 2001, God saved my soul through the death and resurrection of Christ on the cross. I had been holding myself back. Although God offered me free forgiveness, I felt like I couldn’t forgive myself. In his kindness, God spoke to me clearly about his forgiveness one Sunday morning during a song and worship service. From that point on, his plans became my plans because God is faithful all the time.
So, here I am in my 50’s, still single and with no children. I could choose to be disappointed that my life did not unfold according to my plans, but I believe that my life is EXACTLY how God wants it at this EXACT time. God is faithful and I have faith that God knows best because he created me, and he created me for specific purposes. He knows the plans he has for me and if he wanted me married with children, it would be so. God is faithful whether I am single or married.
It is my faith in God and my relationship with him that keeps my focus on what he wants my life to be. There is a defined purpose for my life, and as long as I am following my Father’s lead, that purpose will unfold according to his plans. What a miracle and relief it is to have someone navigate life’s choices for me, and for that someone to be God himself.
My relationship with my Creator allows me to seek his direction for each turn and decision of my life. Of course, there have been missteps and unfruitful choices, but all along the way, He leads me and straightens my path when I veer away from his plan. God is faithful.
God has also blessed me with many friends who are like family to me, and planted me in a church that uses my gifts to serve others. I have a full life with many different facets that bring me joy and hopefully bring God glory. Keeping my focus on the joy of the Lord releases me from thinking of not being married. My identity is not in being married or single; it is in belonging to Christ. I’m living now in the most important relationship with my Lord who is faithful and knows the plans he has for me. What a treasure, what a gift!
