Lady of Devotion

Devotion - profound dedication; earnest attachment to a cause, person.

How many times have you been at a wedding or family gathering or social event where your basically the only single person in the room? Sometimes I feel like it's the story of my life. And there's always a few people, without fail, who come up and say 'when's it your turn? why don't you have a date? aww, the only single one...don't worry I'm sure it'll happen someday. always a bridesmaid, never a bride.' For the record, if you are one of the people who make those comments because you think you're funny...we're not laughing. People tend to think less of singles. But that's not how God intended it to be. Christ gave single people the advantage of not having any distractions. If you're single, you have the opportunity to fully devote yourself to your relationship with the Lord, without the distractions of a spouse or children.

Devotion is a big word. I'm talking more about depth than length. Profound dedication....that's HUGE! It's like, you can't just kind of be in love with God. It's all or nothing, ladies and gentleman. Take the example used in the book (obviously paraphrased by yours truly): So you're sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch by yourself, feeling like the most ginormous loser in school, staring at the man of your dreams. No chance, right? Then, just as you're biting into your peanut butter sandwich, he comes and sits right next to you. (Is your heart beating faster yet?) So you talk for a little while and he is your perfect match. Everything about him is interesting, and you know that you were meant to be. You date for awhile and fall madly in love. Fast forward a decent amount of time. You're sitting on a park bench in late spring and he tells you that he loves you. He says that for 364 days a year, he is going to be the most devoted, faithful, loving, caring husband he can possibly be. Sounds wonderful, you think. BUT, for one day a year, he can go all Tiger Woods on you and date as many people as he wants, just to see what he's missing out on. Now, 364 days is a lot. But is that good enough? No way! Are we ridiculous for asking for 365 days a year of full commitment and love? Definitely not. And neither is God. We have to be wonderfully, achingly, hopelessly devoted to Jesus Christ 365 days a year. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. Always. At all times. Forever.

How do you actually become devoted to God? It's like making a new friend. You know when you meet someone new and you start spending crazy amounts of time together? You talk and text and facebook and email and tweet for hours a day. That's what we need to do with God. We have to spend time with Him and get to know Him. It has to be a two-way street. Talk to God - and listen to Him. Those times when you're praying and all of the sudden it's just silent...maybe that just means that you should be listening rather than chatting. We can't just talk and ask and take and receive. We have to love God for who He is, not what He can give to us.

To anyone who is single right now: don't hate yourself for it. There is nothing wrong with you. You are beautiful and strong and loved. Take advantage of this freedom. Use it to grow closer to God. You may never have this time for devotion again. Embrace it. Love it.

Give God your undistracted, wholehearted devotion. He will be the best friend you will ever have. In the words of my friend, Timothy, let God romance you. =)


peaceandlove<3