Singleness Appreciation Day

Valentine's Day has come and gone yet another time. For many people who are without that special someone, it is a sad day full of regret, longing, and loneliness. "Singleness Awareness Day," as it is often called, reminds lonely hearts everywhere to be miserable and count the curses of singleness. BUT I am here to tell you - it doesn't have to be that way! Singleness can be and IS a blessing! Here are some reasons why:

1. Singleness gives you a chance to pursue your hobbies, dreams, and goals. You have the whole rest of your life to be married - you will most likely only be single for a relatively small portion of your life. So, live it up! Take classes in something you enjoy, travel to a place you have always wanted to visit, spend time developing a talent you have never had a chance to hone, find your dream job. Once you are married, time for these activities will be much more limited.

2. Singleness gives you freedom. You can pick up and move across the state - or to another country - if you wish. You can change jobs or go back to school. You can plan your own schedule. Once you are married, you and your spouse will have to plan together.

3. Singleness gives you a chance to focus on the most important relationship of all. If you are a Christian, being single allows you to pour all of your love into Christ. 1 Corinthians 7 says "He that is unmarried cares for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But he that is married cares for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife....The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord...but she that is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband."

4. Singleness allows you to build other important relationships in your life. When you are married, much time will necessarily be spent with your spouse, developing your relationship with each other. While you are single is the perfect time to build strong, close-knit relationships with family and friends.

5. Singleness is simpler. This may seem like a silly reason, but think about it. How much stress, heartache, headaches, and mini-crises do you hear about every day just from relationships with significant others? It just goes with the territory. No relationship is easy, and dating/marriage is the most difficult of all. Men are complicated. Women are complicated. Men and women understanding each other's complexity = impossible. Seriously, though, having a boyfriend/ girlfriend/husband/wife does NOT fix everything and make all your dreams come true. This isn't Disney or a romance novel. Relationships are a lot of work and add their own problems and stresses to an already full and stressful life.

(Or women, if you are a guy!)

6. Singleness is really out of our control. Sure, you can go out looking for the perfect someone. And sure, if you just sit at home and twiddle your thumbs, your prince/princess is probably not going to appear. However, that being said, you can not MAKE the right person come along. When it is time, you will meet him or her. If you try to force a relationship to happen before it is time, chances are you will end up with the wrong person. Better to be single forever than to be trapped in a relationship that brings you nothing but sorrow and misery. Life.is.too.short. to waste it away bemoaning something we cannot change.

Soooooo....ENJOY your singleness! Celebrate it! For most of us, this is just one season of our lives, and one that will soon be over. So, treasure each moment as a single person and resolve to get the most out of this time in your life.

Happy Singleness Appreciation Day!