Habitating in that hospital waiting room? It is a discomfort everyone feels. The magazines are used up, the chairs
are rigid, and the undercurrent of anxiety is almost overwhelming. It’s like being stuck in a waiting room; this is
where life is truly halted; you’re not there to work on anything, to construct, or to grow. You only want to hear your
name called for the last time so you can leave. Unfortunately, this is precisely how the contemporary church has
unintentionally conditioned single adults to feel about their relationship status. We experience singleness as
something like a “holding pattern,” waiting until you have to wait until “real life” arrives at the marriage altar. But the
biblical story tells a very different story. Singleness is not a deficit that must be tamed; it is a sacred vocation to be
nurtured.
When Paul states that singleness is a gift, he’s not speaking of a supernatural lack of desire for romance. On the
contrary, he describes a practical sense of freedom. 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 states that while the unmarried person
cares a great deal about the things of the Lord, the married person cares almost too much about worldly things and
how to please their spouse. This does not represent an insult to the institution of marriage, but rather an elevation of
singleness within a season of undistracted devotion. We need to be working to dismantle the wait-and-see model
and be willing to replace it with the pursuit of God that is in the moment. The cultural idol of romance teaches us that
we are only half people seeking our missing piece, but the gospel tells us we are fully together in Christ.
Right now, if you are a single person, you are strategic in the context of the Kingdom of God. You are blessed with
time, resources, and emotional bandwidth that a married person just doesn’t have. Don’t spend this season sitting at
the waiting room door, waiting for your name to be called. Instead, choose one area in ministry, service, or personal
growth that you can do today in Knoxville that you could not do if you were married. When you reframe your season
in this manner, you turn a painful season of waiting into the reason to live.
This blog is designed for Christian singles in Knoxville, Tennessee, who are ready to move beyond
the waiting room of life and step into a purpose-filled journey. Here, you'll find encouragement,
inspiration, and a community that understands your unique path.