Single & Married Ladies – You’re a Jewel!

Hi Ladies,

Here’s another testimony from A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND…Unless You Ask God to Be Head of Your Search Committee, and it’s the only one from a young lady who’s single. She’s a great example of following God without question, despite all struggles or doubt. And as an exceptional woman of God, she has been as a perfect diamond in His sight.

FOCUSED AND FAITHFUL

JP – “How long have you been single?”

CS – “I’ve been single for ten years.”

JP – “How long were you married, and was your husband a Christian?”

CS – “I was married for only three and a half years, and no, he wasn’t a Christian.”

JP – “Was that a reason for the breakup of the marriage?”

CS – “I’m sure it played a part. We were young when we got married. He got baptized during the time we were married, but that was for me, not because of his relationship with God. After a while it bothered him that every Sunday I would go to church. He’d get upset and want to know, ‘Why can’t you stay home with me today?’ At first, I did. In my mind, I was bargaining with him, which meant there would be some Sundays when he would go with me to church. Then I realized I was compromising in the wrong direction. If he didn’t ever want to go, that was fine, but I couldn’t let him stop the progress I was making just because he didn’t understand.”

JP – “Let me ask you about celibacy. How long have you been celibate?”

CS – “You know I don’t know because it wasn’t planned. I’ve never told God, ‘Because I’m a Christian I want to be celibate.’ I do remember maybe seven or eight years ago, I had a male friend over and we almost made love – no, we almost had sex. But I remember thinking how awful that made me feel. The next day was Sunday, and I recall telling God at the altar, ‘I don’t ever want to feel like that again, and if You will help me with this, I would like to dedicate that part of my life to the way You would like to run it.’ I realized it was an area I hadn’t turned over to Him, and I knew that what I felt the night before I didn’t ever want to feel again, to be with somebody I wasn’t in love with when it wasn’t all the things it was supposed to be.

But I don’t know if the celibacy started then or not. It feels so natural for me. There have been men that I cared a lot about, even some who’ve actually spent the night in my home. But it had to be from God. There is no way an adult woman can let an adult man spend the night and tell him, ‘I will not have sex and you need to understand that,’ and everything is fine. I didn’t do it just to test God. It’s not like standing out in the street daring a Mack truck to hit me because I’ve prayed prior to that. My celibacy is just something that has happened and I’m very grateful for that. When I was starting out, I didn’t know why I was saying no, but now I know it’s the course God has me on. I joke that God must be saving me for some evangelist, but I figure whatever He’s saving me for, it’s good, because God doesn’t do anything that’s not good. And it hasn’t been a problem for me. It’s not hard at all, and that, too, has to be from God. Even with men I’ve cared a great deal about, my commitment to God has always been stronger than any other commitment I could make. I’ve just decided that, ‘If this is what You want for me, this is what I want for me too, so strengthen me to handle it.’ And He has.”

JP – “Did He just stop sending guys your way?”

CS – “No, and I’m glad of that because…”

Until next week, Joy and Shalom!