Upon developing a genuine relationship with God in college, I was certain that my "Boaz" would show up before graduation. I read book after book, article after article, and attended any and every Christian conference I could afford with the hopes that "he" would be there - and of course to dig deeper into my biblical studies and relationship with God. I was truly on the hunt for that ring before 22.

But man, oh man did my plan for life fail!

As most of you know, I live in a house with 5 - yes, 5 - other women. All single, and all on a mission to pursue Christ. Oh, and we have a dog named Paco, whom I have love/hate relationship with. I know, it sounds crazy that we choose to live like that - and sort of makes us sound real, real saved. We're not. We're all heathens and living in such a crowded space makes us recognize our need for Jesus.

Anywho, conversations about singleness and marriage have surfaced almost nonstop for the past few weeks within our immediate circles, and since I'm a writer, well I thought I'd write about it. That's just what I do.

But first, I'd like to share a little GIF story I "wrote" to my roommates in response to all of these conversations. I call it "Ode to the Single Christian".

When you tell someone that getting closer to Jesus doesn't mean your husband is around the corner or that you're certain to get married

And they're like...

And then you're like...

Telling someone your age and how you're still single, living with a group of other fabulous ladies who are contently single so it's really not that bad, but they're all like "I want my Boaz"

But little do they know, the Beach Crib is where it goes down.

Really, what is it about singleness that just makes us cringe? What is it about marriage that makes us envy? A desire for either isn't a bad thing, but the former seems to be less desirable than spending your Friday afternoon in the company of Felicia.

One thing is certain – marriage won't cure loneliness or discontentment with life. It'll only magnify it. Just like God isn't your genie for health and prosperity, He also isn't your guaranteed matchmaker or gateway to marriage. Bruh, you just might die single - is a life lived to bring glory to God worth it? Likewise, marriage isn't something to boast about if it's just used as a Christian-cultural trophy instead of another way to point people to Christ.

I'm grateful for my roommates/sisters. I'm grateful that we can joke about these things, but still have honest conversations. I'm grateful for the examples of biblical marriage that I've had a chance to witness for the past few years and see how much of a hyper-romance fairytale it really isn't. Being surrounded by people who are equally obsessed with the Gospel is a huge encouragement. They help me wrestle through life and encourage me to stay focused on that which is eternal.

No matter what stage of life you're in, living a life for Christ is going to have it's challenges. And neither being single or married is going to make signing up to be a servant for Christ easier. However, whether married or single, we're all called to put on display biblical community.

<3 LC