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Letting Go - 8th in a series by Jessica Sheets We’ve talked a lot about waiting for the guy that God has for you and trusting that only He can make it happen. But here’s another curve ball that I need to throw your way. What if God wants you to just be single for a while or forever? What if it’s not His plan for you to get married at all? It may send a shudder down your spine...it did mine when I dealt with it. But the truth is that God uses the "in between time" to teach you and shape you and make you ready for what He has for you. If that is a guy then I trust He will show in His time, as we have previously discussed, but if it is singleness for a "higher calling" as Paul writes of it in the New Testament, then He will walk you through one as well. But the question is, how in the world are we as girls--emotional, clingy, relationship-obsessed creatures--supposed to be OK without a future relationship? One of my favorite (or least favorite--depending on my attitude) quotes by author Elizabeth Elliot is, "hopes and dreams are all material for sacrifice." It’s one of those thoughts that can just really take the wind out of me when I least expect it. God wants me to sacrifice my hopes and dreams?? Actually, she says that they are just material for sacrifice...meaning we just need to be prepared to release them (that’s much better, isn’t it?). I think about the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham had waited many years for the son that God had promised is barren wife would conceive. And she did. When Issac had grown God asked Abraham to sacrifice him. I have a son, and this just seems like a very cruel thing for God to do. Even knowing the end of the story...that God offered another sacrifice instead of Isaac...it still seems like He’s messing with Abraham’s head a little. But, I also know that Abraham knew and trusted God’s heart in a way that I’ve never experienced. And I’m sure that, even though he must have questioned God, He knew that He was trustworthy. He didn’t have to understand what in the world was going on, he had faith that God would take care of it. As much as Abraham loved his son, there was no comparison to his relationship with God. And so he was willing to sacrifice his most priceless treasure. And as a result, his relationship with God (and most likely with his son) were at level that only few others in history have experienced. You see, God doesn’t ask us to sacrifice things just for the sake of taking them from us. He asks us to lay down the things, even good things, that we put before God in our hearts. The greek word in the New Testament is "epi thumia" which literally means "the over desire for something good." We can make bad things idols for sure, but it is more often the good things we make first place in our heart that crowd out God. So I challenge you to examine your own heart. Is your love life and idol? Are you more concerned with getting your MRS degree than anything else? Are you willing to consider the possibility of offering it as a sacrifice to Him? Most likely, God will take it and chisel it out to be the love life He wants you to have. And then He will give it back, and it will be greater than you ever imagined. But sometimes, we give things to Him, and He doesn’t give them back...thus the struggle. What if you hand your relationships over to God, and he says he wants you to be single for a season or longer? Are you willing to follow? Even if that sounds like the worst imaginable thing, I can promise you one thing...a life lived surrendered to God looking for His plan will be nothing less than spectacular. Let’s be honest...anyone can find a boyfriend or husband (just lower your standards a little). Not just anyone can be so in love with God that they are willing to give up everything they have in order to grow closer to Him. What are your hopes and dreams? Do you know He is the keeper of those hopes and dreams? He is, no doubt! But what do you need to hold lightly or possibly surrender completely? It is really hard, I know. Ask Him to show you...to be gentle and kind but loving and firm. And remember about the One sacrifice that He made for you. When you begin to understand how precious you are to Him and how much He loves you, your relationship will grow to a whole new level. Gradually you will be able to trust Him with all your hopes and dreams, and you will see that He can actually do more with them than you can. And one day, you will realize that He really is all you need. And who knows what He will do from there. But whatever it is, it will be something beyond your wildest imagination!