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Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye?
Seldom do I come across a book on topic as broad as singleness that I recommend to others. In fact, of the dozens of relationship books for teens and young adults, very few do I find worth a read, let alone a re-read. But Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? by Carolyn McCulley is a great exception.
This book addresses facets of singleness that other books I've read have not - God's purpose for singleness, how to deal with our emotions concerning singleness, how we can imitate the Proverbs 31 woman while single, and what should be filling our time. Miss McCulley is not embarrassed to ask the hard questions - "What if I don't get married?", "How do I fill my empty Friday nights?", and "What should I do with my yearning for children?" - and she does all this with senstivity and solid Biblical wisdom.
There are several points made that were especially helpful to me. First, I appreciated her reminder that singleness is a gift and spiritual gifts are to be used for the benefit of the body of Christ. This encouraged me to continue seeking avenues of service that would best utilize the present time the Lord has given me without more pressing committments. Secondly, I benefitted from her advice to remind myself constantly to trust God's sovereignty, His wisdom, and His love. It's when we doubt those things that we begin to slip into discouragement. Third, she gave a precise description of allowable and unexcusable sadness. Occasionally we may cry over our circumstances and that is not necessarily sin. But, and I know I can pinpoint this in my own life, often that sorrow can quickly turn into self-pity, which is always sin. This distinction has helped me to avoid slipping into wrongdoing in this area several times already.
The second half of this book is a description of the single Proverbs 31 woman. Miss McCulley believes that single women can exhibit all the traits this married woman does - having noble character, doing good to your authorities and possible future husband, being hospitable, investing in children, using speech wisely, aging gracefully, serving the needy, and others. For anyone who has put off emulating the paragon of virtue due to the lack of matrimony, this is a stark reminder that we are not off the hook when it comes to spiritual maturity!
Whether you are young and single or growing older and remaining single as the author of this book is, I think you will find encouragement in the pages of Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? You will be exhorted to contentment in your present state, prodded to trust in the Lord more fully, and inspired to live a complete and active life of service in the body of Christ.
Posted by lilypress at February 1, 2006 5:55 PM
