A few months ago, my roommates and I thought it would be fun to get together with a bunch of single friends, dress up, and go out for a girl’s night.  The moment was perfected when the movie 27 Dresses was released in theaters.  13 single girls got together in bridesmaid dresses to watch the movie and then headed downtown for a girls night out.  The theory behind the event was simple:  Singles between the ages of 23 and 30 almost always have at least one bridesmaid dress.  We pay way too much only to wear it once.  Get us all together, give us a reason to get dressed up, and slap a title/theme to the girls nice…there you have it:  “Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride”.  It was a great night, the artist at the restaurant/bar loved us, and we were asked by many to take pictures as we left the theater.  It may seem random, but we 13 girls are not alone… at least not in being single and entering the wedding season 2008.   

 It seems like somewhere between 23 and 28 everyone and their sister gets married.  For some of us, it’s a wonderful time.  For others, it’s plagued by over priced dresses and wedding registries that seem to only differ by the names found at the top of the page.  For the later, if they have even 5 minutes of downtime between the bridal showers, weddings, receptions, bachelorette parties, and a few baby showers (from those brides that had been married in recent years and are now expanding their families) the reality just might set in that they are still single and maybe, just maybe, their day if farther off than they like to acknowledge.

 Wedding season is a fun time, but it can also be a hard time.  There’s not really a good way to respond to the invite.  Either you are allowed a guest and you face the pressure of finding a date OR your friend saves you the trouble and asks you to arrive solo (Thanks!  Can I sit at the “singles table” as well??).  You always have to buy gifts…and if you’re like me, the older you get, the less stuff you need.  I look at the endless stack of registry papers and wonder to myself, “Most of this stuff I have!  Will I even be able to make up a registry at the rate I’m going?”  So much for my wedding day paybacks!  

 Today, I officially kicked off the wedding season with a token trip to Bed Bath and Beyond’s Customer Service desk to pick up registries.  While I was there, I picked up 6 bridal registries and purchased gifts for 6 weddings…the 6 I know of…so far for the spring and early summer 2008.  It was beautiful.  The guy at customer service thought I was crazy when I kept calling out names for him to look up, “you’re joking right” – he’s a guy though, what does he know…really?

 I’m sure that for most of us single women (especially as we get older)  it’s easy to enter into this season and quickly find yourself lonely, sitting in the middle of wrapping paper, wedding registries and a pint of your favorite Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, wondering if your turn will ever come.  I’ve been there, but I’m hoping that while this season is loaded with bridal showers and weddings, my eyes will remain on the Lord and discouragement will pass me by.  Coming from a deep season of loneliness last winter, I’m eager to stay out of that season…at least for a while.  I have several girlfriends still walking into weddings solo, just as I do and I have a few women convinced of and praying for the man I will one day marry.  I’m excited for that day to come, but I’m also excited to share in the union of several friends this season.  As much as I want that day to come for me (and trust me I do), I honestly don’t know how a boyfriend would fit into my already hectic life…a boyfriend!  Not even a husband…not even a family.  I’m sure I would make room for it, but right now it’s hard to imagine. 

 Several weeks ago, God opened my eyes to the reality that our calling isn’t just something that’s way out in the future, but rather our calling is something that exists here and now…it’s who we were yesterday, who we are today, and who we’ll be tomorrow.  When I let that reality sink in, those things I long for that I don’t yet (and may never) have seemed to have a little less of a hold on me.  There is purpose in being single, and though it’s hard…it’s definitely for the Glory of God.  There is time and freedom in my life that wouldn’t be there if I were the one getting married in a couple weeks.  There is growth and development that may not happen if my mind and heart were truly distracted by a relationship.  As I watch others enter into a new season of their life…and as I keep “waiting” in this season of my own I am reminded that waiting doesn’t mean inactive or static…waiting is and can be dynamic…and beautiful.  Enjoy this time, as hard as it may be…I’m sure in hindsight we wouldn’t trade this time in for the world – especially if we’re allowing and giving God the glory as we wait…in whatever that waiting may mean or be for us today.

 “Waiting involves nurturing the growth of something within” ~Henri Nouwen 

 ”Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: he will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.” (Psalms 37:3-6)