When Waiting is...Overtime

For how many years, I am being asked with questions such as "Are you already married?", "When are you going to settle down?" or "Do you already have kids?" Questions I first answer with a smile and utter, "It's not yet the will of God." I am already 28, never had the chance to have a boyfriend. And because of that, I have received different comments. Some thought I'm choosy; others just concluded that I am celibate.

But for the knowledge of others, I do wait. I wait for him whom I can be called "his suitable partner". I wait to see someone beside me whenever I wake up in the morning; I wait to have someone pray with me when praying becomes so hard for me to do; I wait for someone to complement me and I'll do the same with him. But the waiting has been so long; it is, if not seen through the eyes of a child of God.

Singleness is not a curse nor a burden. I enjoy many opportunities of serving the Lord because I am single. I Corinthians 7:13 says "But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord — how he may please the Lord." I praise God that though I am single, He has provided me with so many blessings that waiting becomes trusting and thanking moment for His glory.

Singleness is not a hindrance for raising kids

I do not need to wait for marriage and for my kids so I could train and nurture them into the knowledge of God. God Himself has abundantly blessed me with so many ways of being a godly and Biblical mother. You can have a family by faith. John Piper exhorts, "if a single woman turns without bitterness and regret from the absence of her own family and gives herself to creating God's family in the church, she will find a flowering for her womanhood in ways never dreamed of, and Christ will be uniquely honored.”

Singleness is not a hindrance to complement men

Man and woman are created by God to complement each other. But no need to wait until marriage to complement a man. There are men at home and in the church whom you can guide and help. I thank God that I have a male best friend, brothers and friends in Christ who give me the chance to practice my Biblical role. They guide and mold me and I also have the chances to complement them in one way or another.

Singleness teaches total dependence on God

I do not say that married men and women are not dependent on God. But there is a different encounter with God once you learn to cling to God more than anyone and anything else, especially during moments when you are being deceived of being alone. God shows Himself to be very much available for you and that He certainly fills any longing of the heart. You will also learn to embrace His will and enjoy His sovereignty; and that will teach you the freedom and dependence on Him.

You will also learn that marriage is just here on earth; it is just temporary. Your forever husband is the Lord. Isaiah 54:5 says, "For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth."

Singleness opens an avenue of focused ministry

This is the point of Paul in saying that the only focus of unmarried is the Lord. Some young married women in our church talk about how they wanted to join some of the ministries but they have no one to look for their kids or that they can't devote their whole time for they may be worrying about their homes. If you are unmarried, you have no other concern than to please the Lord (I Cor. 7:13).

Don't get me wrong again. I acknowledge the different ministry being cared by mothers. They have their homes as their primary place of serving God.


Single men and women, like me, should never look marriage as something that will make us whole. Christ is our contentment, whether married or single. Let us serve the Lord with gladness of the heart and with total dependence. The definition of true womanhood doesn't lie in marrying.

Lastly, I just wanna share John Piper's words:

"Married womanhood has its unique potential for magnifying Christ that single womanhood does not have. Single womanhood has its unique potential for magnifying Christ which married womanhood does not have.

So whether you marry or remain single, do not settle for a wimpy theology. It is beneath you. God is too great. Christ is too glorious. True womanhood is too strategic. Don’t waste it. Your womanhood—your true womanhood—was made for the glory of Jesus Christ."

Hope...Hope...Hope

Hope deferred makes the heart sick...(Proverbs 13:12a)

This verse became unforgettable because of Carolyn McCulley's book Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye?. Now this verse keeps on ringing in my ears as I face moments of discouragements and frustrations. When events are beyond our comprehensions and they really push us at the end of our ropes, hope seems to be hiding beyond the clouds. And worst, sometimes it is the heart that gives in.

But those of Christ never lose hope. I don't know how it happens but I thank God that though it seems hopeless, hope is endless in His Hands. He keeps on pouring it in my heart; He gives an unexplainable assurance in my heart; He keeps me trusting His Word.

In moment like this, I always find myself in the book of Psalms. Well, Martin Luther is right when he said that if you can't find your life in the Psalms, you have never become a child of God. In this book, I learned three things:

Scripture tells us to put our hope in the Lord

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62:5-8)

The Bible tells us about God's faithfulness; it records how God never fails His people. Paul even testifies of the encouragement the Scripture gives: For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.(Romans 15:4) In God's Words alone are hope; therefore, let us still trust God.

In any situation, praise God

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:11)

God is still magnificently beautiful amidst the dark storms and those who have been truly captivated by His beauty never give in to any situations. No dark clouds can blur the heart so much in love with the Lord.

It glorifies God

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. (Psalm 147:10-11)

In the deepest moment and in the darkest hour, clinging unto the Lord alone gives God pleasure. It glorifies God to see His beloved ones depend on Him. It pleases Him when those downcast in spirit acknowledge their need of His touch and of His comfort.

I don't know how it really happens but I know it is God. It is during this time that I marvel how I can still manage to hope in Him and to really praise Him. I really thank God for this unexplainable hope against hope. There are so much surprises about our God, so much marvelous things He reveals. How can I explain that despite the questioning and disappointments of my heart is the beholding of His unseen workings. I thank God that nothing can separate me from His love (Romans 8:38-39) and I still glorify Him for He is my God.

A Meditation on the Fools' Day

We are fools for Christ... (I Corinthians 4:10)

I was thinking of writing an article about women as it will be very timely since March is considered a Women's Month. Unfortunately, I can't think of a very good topic until I ran out of time (and day) and it is already April 1. Then before frustration embraces me for not writing an article about womanhood, God gave me an idea: Why not write about this day? April 1 is said to be Fools' Day and I am a fool for Christ and I can also share some fool women for Christ I admire (thus, still being able to write about womanhood).

We have a negative connotation when we say fool. Who wants to be called a fool which is defined in my wordweb dictionary as A person who lacks good judgment and A person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of? But when Paul labeled himself a fool, he means a different thing. John Gill's commentary states that they (Paul and companions)were so (fools for Christ) in the esteem of men, for their close attach merit to a crucified Christ; and for preaching the doctrine of salvation by him; and for enduring so much reproach, affliction, and persecution, for his sake and the Gospel's. John Wesley explains that We are fools, in the account of the world, for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ.

I have here the honor to mention few women whom I consider fools for Christ:

• Mary, the mother of Jesus
  She was already betrothed to Joseph (Lk.1:27) yet she accepted God's will in her life (Lk.1:38) though that would cause her shame and humiliation and the possible cancellation of her and Joseph's wedding. She treasured things and pondered them in her heart that is why though her heart is crushed seeing Jesus nailed on the cross, she managed to stand near the cross of Christ, her Savior (Lk.1:46-47).
  
  
• Elisabeth Elliot
  She was married to Jim Elliot in 1953. Jim needed to leave her and their daughter to be missionary but was killed by the Aucas. While Elisabeth was working with the Quichua Indians, she met two Auca women who became her key to go to the people who killed her husband and share Christ to them.
  
  Many will never understand how she wanted to share Christ and thus, let the killers of her husband be saved in Christ. (And glory to God that salvation has come to the Aucas)
  
  
• Katharina Von Bora Luther
  She was a runaway nun who was married to the father of reformation, Martin Luther. Her devotion to Christ and her domesticity will be labeled foolishness today. She managed a large home (a former monastery) which is always full of visitors plus their kids and some relatives. They had a large garden and livestock where she, herself, managed for their daily foods.
  
  She is a career woman, a biblical woman who knows that home is her primary place of ministry.
  
  
• Susanna Wesley
  She is the mother of John and Charles Wesley. After I read her biography, I found her to be a woman of principle. She was not afraid to be forsaken by her father after studying that the beliefs and practices of the Dissent were wrong. In fact, she left her father's church. She stood on her principles though it caused Samuel (her husband)leaving her for 6 months. She was also on her 12th pregnancy that time. She educated her children and disciplined them. She met her kids in a special private conference with each child once a week.
  
  There are also some writings which said that while John Wesley preached, she was there praying for her son and the listeners.
  
  
• Sarah Pierpont Edwards
  Of course, I'll include her here. She is married to Jonathan Edwards. There are so much things I can say about her but what I love is Jonathan's description of her when she was only 13:
  
  They say there is a young lady in [New Haven] who is loved of that Great Being, who made and rules the world, and that there are certain seasons in which this Great Being, in some way or other invisible, comes to her and fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight; and that she hardly cares for anything, except to mediate on Him.
  
  That summarizes her being fool for Christ. She was only 13 but her whole being is so much captivated by God; she was so much inlove with her Maker.

I can still mention many women whom I know have great fear and reverence in God. Some of them are also being used by God for me to be a Biblical woman: Mary Kassian, Carolyn McCulley, Dannah Gresh, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Leslie Ludy, and of course, Noel Piper. May God be glorified in the lives of these women.

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As I write this article, Mary Kassian posted in Facebook that April 1 is also the official release of Girls Gone Wise.

This Day Is The Day To Celebrate

Praise God that I am enjoying this day (not just because it is my birthday) but more because of the mercy and grace He has bestowed upon me that I now have this intimate relationship with Him. What else do I desire than to live and move and have my being in Him and Him alone for His glory alone!

I experienced God's love and this what John Wesley calls the "heart-warming experience" when I was 15. Now I am already 28 and God's love overwhelms me still. There were so many temptations and obstacles along the way which promised the satisfaction of the cravings of my depraved heart. In the end, I always see myself empty and discontented. Praise God for His patience for a hard-headed like me! Praise God for His unconditional love! Indeed, words are not enough to magnify His Being! He always picks me up.

Today, there is more reason to celebrate! God's faithfulness is so much evident in my life for 28 years! I have already shared to some people that I am an "accidental baby". :D My mother was taking contraceptive pills but God willed that she conceived me. Starting from my conception up to this moment, God's sovereignty and wisdom is very evident. (There is no blessings in disguise, everything was planned and willed by the Lord.)

Praise be unto God! Praise God for the adoption he has done for me. Praise God that I am His beloved. Praise God He satisfies my soul. The more I am overwhelmed with God's love, the more I long to have more of Him - to know Him deeper and to enjoy Him more. He is the reason why I celebrate this day.

Thomas Watson writes: "The soul is never satisfied till it has God for its portion, and heaven for its haven." I find this very true. I wanna sing with King David in his psalm:

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psa 73:25-26)