At a wedding, I asked a single friend what’s new in her life.
“Um…nothing,” she said laughing.
“Me too,” I laughed.
“Do you ever think of doing online dating?” she asked.
I paused. She misunderstood. I wasn’t asking about her love life. I was just asking about her life in general. We haven’t caught up with each other in a while. I hope she misunderstood because we were at a wedding and the atmosphere lent itself to conversations about love and relationships, but I eagerly hope that we, especially we single ladies, can honestly answer the “What’s new with you?” question with honest enthusiasm about our lives.
I have a love-hate relationship with routine. I love setting up a writing routine and hate when it gets disrupted. I hate being placed on a schedule and love when life interrupts it.
I love the freedom of being single, of going out with friends when I want to because I don’t have to be with my husband or take care of my kids, of going out by myself when and where I want to because I can, of being free to jump into projects or help out in ministries, and of just enjoying this time.
Therefore I hate when I don’t have an answer to the “What’s new with you?” question. I feel like I’m letting God and myself down by not utilizing my single season better.
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in the rut of routine? You want out, but don’t know how to do it?
What’s new with you?
Do you have an answer?
I bet you do. I do, too, but to find that answer, I have to readjust my perspective. Because there’s a bunch of new things with me if I’m really honest about it.
I celebrated my blog’s 1st year anniversary.
God gave me an idea for a blog subscriber freebie, and am currently writing this eBook.
I re-cut my growing pixie haircut, shorter this time, and I love it.
God blessed me with health insurance, that’s an answered prayer.
I’m wearing a new dress.
And much more. I just didn’t think them worth mentioning because they didn’t feel big enough. In my eyes, there’s nothing big going on so there’s nothing new with me. I didn’t go on a mission trip or a vacation recently. I didn’t get a new job or step up in my career. I didn’t do anything extraordinary, least of all meet my future husband. There’s none of that. It’s just the same old same old.
We all feel this way at one time or another, whether we are single or not. What have I been doing, you wonder. Work. More work. The laundry. The kids’ laundry. Carpool duty. Homework check. Write one blog post that nobody commented on. Started playing with a new app.
It’s time we readjust our perspectives.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
Lamentations, by its name alone, isn’t the most cheerful book in the Bible. It really is full of lament, sorrow and regret. But throughout this book are verses that exalt God for his goodness, for the great things He does for us, for hope in the midst of lamentation.
I get the case of lamentation from time to time. “No, there’s nothing new in my life.” Sigh. Pout. Moan. Lament.
But there is always something new in our lives! God’s mercy. His love. His faithfulness. Every morning, we wake up to God’s abundant everything, and if we open the eyes of our hearts just a little bit more, we can see the new things happening in our lives. They won’t always be something big in the eyes of the world or even in our eyes, but think about this. Every single morning, we get a new gift from God. That’s pretty big.
So…
What’s new with you?
