Enjoy the season you're in. I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but hang with me.
Singleness has some serious benefits
When you're single, you can do whatever you want. You can buy whatever you want. You can eat whatever you want. You can stay up as late as you want and binge-watch whatever you want. You get to do you! Enjoy it. Because once you get married, it's not all about you. And it's surely not all about you when you have kids.
Contentment doesn't come from your status
No matter what season you're in, the goal is to find contentment and lasting happiness. Contentment doesn't come from the season you're in but from the perspective you have.
"I'm just not happy. If I get married, then I'll be happy." Then: "If we just have kids, I'll be happy." Then: "Once the kids are in school, I'll be happy." The list goes on. A change of status doesn't guarantee a change of contentment. Happiness won't be found in an external change. Contentment is found through an inward joy.
You might be thinking, "Easy for you to say. You're married." Fair. But I know plenty of married people who are miserable, and plenty of single people who are content. Paul, who was single, said, "I have learned how to be content with whatever I have" (Philippians 4:11 NLT). Contentment is learned. It doesn't show up with a ring.
Don't miss what's now
The older I get, the more I'm convinced that people are obsessed with what's next. In high school, everyone asks, "Where are you going to college?" In college: "Where are you going to work?" You work for a bit: "When are you going to get married?" You get married: "When are you going to have kids?" Culture and people are always trying to push you into the next season, so you're always searching for what's next and never enjoying what's now.
I'm all for vision and planning, but we can be so focused on what's next that we miss out on what's right now.
Put God first, wherever you are
When Ruth chose to go with Naomi, she said, "Your God will be my God" (Ruth 1:16 NLT). She didn't let her tragedy change the God she served. She put God first, and it completely changed her life.
That passage is what Megan read in her vows on our wedding day. And that woman has had to keep up her end of the bargain. When she said, "Wherever you go, I will go," she meant it. We met and got married in Louisiana, and since then we've lived in California, Illinois, Wisconsin, South Texas and Missouri.
Singleness isn't a waiting room. Paul called it a gift (1 Corinthians 7:7–8). Use this season to grow in God, serve, build friendships and become the kind of person you'd want to marry.
Scripture: Ruth 1:14–16; Philippians 4:11–13; 1 Corinthians 7:7–8