The "Gift" of Singleness

You know how it goes.... We have plans for our life that sound pretty good. At 16 I planned that I would graduate high school, attend a 4 year school to become the best counselor that would impact lives everyday, I would marry the man of my dreams, have my own great kids, go on as many missions trips as possible, hug 1000 lonely orphaned children, and one day retire knowing I had accomplished all this because I loved God and He loved me (all with perfect hair and wearing heels). Where did my plan go wrong? MY plans never seem to work out how I think they should. I am not the creator of the Universe and thankfully I will never wear that badge. I have been challenged recently to let go of my ideas of the traditional life, and be prepared for what He has for me. Some of my desires are the same. I still want to be involved in missions. I still want to help the helpless kids. I still want to be married and be a mother. But how each of these evolve isn't up to me anymore, and they never were. Although I feel like I'm so far behind in life, I am exactly where God wants me to be. Paul talks in Corinthians about "some will receive the gift of marriage and other's will receive the gift of singleness." I'd never thought on the "gift of singleness" much, but I'm starting to understand being single isn't a curse- it's an opportunity to reflect the overwhelming contented love of Christ. We were not placed on this Earth by some random cosmic being- my birth was not chaotic (maybe painful for my mother) but God took His hands and formed me. He knows how many hairs are on my head, my every thought, hurt and happy feelings, and exactly where I will be in 5minutes, 5 months, 5 years, 5 decades. Am I sick of being single... yes. Am I tired of waiting... absolutely. Do I have to fight sinful jealously when a friend announcing they are engaged, married, or going to have a baby... definitely. Do I have hope that one day it will be MY turn to enjoy all those blessings?... Hallelujah YES! I attended a conference this weekend with speaker Beth Moore. Her words were an incredible comfort to me and I learned several key things. I highly recommend her book "So Long Insecurity." She prays that God will flood her with His presence and peace- and I loved the imagery. I want to be flooded too. So I'm going to go away from this with my little beautifully wrapped package of singleness, and enjoy it until God chooses to trade me for a gift of marriage and family. Nevertheless, He's here. He's working. And by golly He's going to delight with me:)