In an ideal world I would love to have been married by now and perhaps started a family, but being a child of God I have to put aside my ideals for God’s plans. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to "Trust in the Lord with all our heart, to not lean on our own understanding, but in all of our ways to acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths." This is a key scripture that we should lean on daily because our ways are not God’s ways and our timing is not God’s timing.

I've been a Christian for 10 years and have been single throughout this journey so I am happy to say that I am content with my singleness because I am a firm believer that nothing happens before its time. Has it been an easy journey for me? No. Do I desire marriage? YES. Has my faith in God to bring me my Boaz died? No, absolutely not. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 10: 22 that "The blessings of the Lord makes rich, And adds no sorrow with it" and for this reason I desire to have the blessing that God has for me, not a premature blessing that I make happen for myself because I compromised to get it, and would have to compromise to keep.  As difficult as it can be at times, being single is a true blessing. It's a time that can never be gained back once you walk up the aisle. I often ask my married friends what it's like to be married and one word they all don't say is 'easy', however, they do say it’s worth it, which is encouraging to hear. I am fully aware that with marriage comes challenges and as much as some of us single ladies may think we are ready for marriage, I believe there are some key things we should be doing to prepare ourselves.

1. Our Finances – No matter how little or how much we earn, saving money should be a habit that we develop.  There are various saving accounts available like ‘ISA Accounts’, ‘Instant Access Saving Accounts’ etc., which offer a variety of different interest rates. Saving enables you to be in a good position when your husband finds you because we would all love a financially stable man and in turn he would love to find a financially stable woman.
2. Our Mind – Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Being single is not a disability or a curse, regardless of the pressures we may incur from family, friends or the media. Our focus must never come away from our 'Maker'.  God can and will honour this genuine desire of your heart?
3. Our Time – Time is something we cannot get back, no matter what we do.  As a single lady, we have so much time available to spend with God.  This is the key foundation to becoming the wives that God has called us to be. In spending time with God you learn how to be submissive and if you struggle submitting to God, how do you expect to submit to your husband? Time is something that is of importance. At times I desire to do things like going to the gym, watch TV, sleep etc, but God may call me to one side to fellowship with Him. If I can't give quality time to God, to know Him better, how will I make quality time to get to know my husband?
4. Understanding our value - My true value is something that God showed me a few years ago. Before this I would put myself down and failed to see myself the way God saw me. The day that I got the revelation of my value I became a new person. Compromise was no longer an option in my life, my thoughts about myself changed dramatically for the better and I developed a new confidence. I can happily say that this is still the case; in fact my confidence in God has grown to a new level. A good scripture that has helped me do this is Psalms 139:14, which says "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvellous are your works and that my soul knows very well."
5. Holding onto the promise - We serve a God of 'promise'. Mark 11:24 says; that “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Therefore we should have peace in knowing that at His appointed time He will deliver His promise. He delivered His promise to Sarah and Abraham in Genesis 21 when they were past the age of childbearing. Genesis 21:2 "For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age..." This is such an encouraging scripture because it signifies that God will do it at the appointed time, remain patient and posture yourself to receive.
6. Don't put your life on hold – live your life to the fullest and take the opportunity to do things that may not be possible once married. Thinking that achieving certain goals in my life will only be possible when I get married is foolish. I have avoided presenting ‘singledom’ as an easy state of being, especially when you have the desire to get married, because it is not, but we can be assured that we are not forgotten because we serve a God who does not have favourites and if He can make it happen for one, He can make it happen for us all. In fact because my faith is so strong in God, I no longer ask God to send me a husband because I know He's heard my prayers, instead I thank Him for my husband in advance and I ask Him for wisdom to be a good wife.