vibrant

An earlier post I shared — the first about my struggle to live the single life well — received more comments and feedback than anything else I’ve written in recent memory. That told me something I had already suspected: that I’d touched a nerve, connected with an unmet need. In writer-speak, I may just have landed on my “platform.” There is a weight on this message, an urgency to speak it forth, yet I feel a bit as if I am stumbling around in the dark, stubbing my toes as I grope for the light that was just right there a moment ago. What is it, Lord, that You would have me say? I can’t speak for everyone: our stories are too diverse, our experiences too varied. Nor will every single woman who comes across this page relate to my story. Still, there is a need — a need for understanding, for inspiration and encouragement, for shared laughter and tears and silence. By the grace of God, I will seek to love and serve well the ones He brings across my path.

As reluctant as I have been to embrace this calling, giving voice to this awkward, unsought journey has already begun to stir hope and possibility in the lives of others. Not only those of my single sisters, for whom I can’t help but hold a special affinity, but also for many others who find themselves living out a story they would not have chosen. Truly, who among us has not experienced some degree of disappointment — or even devastation — when we consider the chasm between our reality and our expectations? Broken marriages, childlessness, chronic illness or pain: each of these life-altering situations, and so many others, threaten to stand between us and daily contentment, let alone fullness of joy. They remind us that this world is badly broken, sadly warped. And as perfect as our Father God’s plans may be, they bring us anything but uninterrupted bliss. Quite the opposite: they inevitably include the very obstacles meant to stretch and refine us more fully along the lines He intends. 

So where do we go from here? I say “we” very intentionally, because this isn’t just about my journey. There is something in the hearts of all of us that longs to be seen, to be heard, to be understood. Maybe this isn’t what we wanted, but I’ve had enough of the “grin and bear it” routine, haven’t you? I believe we’re ready to start leaning into the pain, stepping up to the challenge, and finding out what it looks like to thrive in the face of the unexpected. We want to radiate hope in the most hopeless circumstances, proving to everyone who meets us — and to ourselves, most of all — that we serve a good God who can be trusted with the deepest cries of our hearts. Whether we’re single now or forever, or whether we wrestle with an entirely different reality, let’s begin choosing to rise up and truly live out of the fullness of who we’ve been created to be. 

It’s not going to be easy; any one of us could tell you that. We’ve got countless strongholds to break through, years of listening to lies that we will never be enough, never see the fruit of God’s promises. But when we lay them all out in black and white, line them up next to the promises of Scripture that we believe down deep is the Truth to end all truths, these objections start looking pretty feeble. As if a good strong Breath could scatter them like dust …

So step out and stand with me, Beautiful Ones! Our Lord has something exceedingly marvelous in store for us. Why else would the enemy of our souls be working so desperately to silence us, to smear our characters and intentions, to heap such shame upon us that we would willingly hide ourselves away? Whatever regrets haunt your past, whatever weaknesses cripple your present, for all the fears that seek to dampen your dreams for the future: hold them up to the Light. Now is the time to see clearly, to receive forgiveness, healing, and the courage to live out the vibrancy of His story for you.

Whatever you are up against today, will you join me in lifting it up to the Author of our stories? Whether it’s an unfulfilled dream, an unanswered question, a throbbing ache that won’t go away: open your hands in offering as you hold it up towards His heart. Allow Him to meet you here at this altar, this sacred space of communion. Trust your God to be very tender with your fragile heart — He alone knows the full extent of its treasure, and how very much this act of surrender will cost you. This won’t be the first, or the only, time He will invite you to meet Him here … far from it. Still, on the edge of this wilderness we are heading into together, this holy moment of reflection and repentance is vital.

I am excited to see what mysteries are about to unfold, what new heights of joy and depths of intimacy the Lord is about to unleash before us! I will be drawing heavily on my own story, as it’s the one I know best, but I invite you to reach out and share yours, as well. No matter what height or hidden valley you are currently standing on, each of us has something to offer that will bless our fellow travelers.

Here we go: deep breath, hearts in our throats, arms wide open to the One who stands poised to catch us when we fall … Lord Jesus, meet us here!