Monday | Clarifying My Singleness Gig + Why I Blog

Hello, my friends!

I ask myself often the question "why do I blog." As I'm sure most bloggers do. You see, I'm several things. I'm a self-supportive woman. I'm sort of a photographer, although I don't like to call myself one. I like to make people smile. I'm something of a writer, you can agree or disagree. I'm a 26 year old single woman. And I'm open and transparent about the things that go through the head of a single woman.

But I'm also a Christian. And as a Christian, God always comes first. There should be no question about that. As you know if you've been reading around here for awhile, I off and on will blog about my life as a single woman. Specifically, the emotions, struggles and self-worth issues of a single woman.

You know my mantra: "I'm most encouraged through the honesty and transparency of others." Because you'll agree that the more honest someone is, the more powerfully their words can hit home and make a difference in our lives. And so, I really want to be that person. That person who lets you see what's really going on. And as a single woman, the issues I struggle through these days are often issues that revolve around not having a husband, feeling like a less-than, loneliness and discouragement. So I write about it on this blog.

But my greatest fear while doing that is that my honest writing will come across as whining and complaining to you. Oh, believe me, I can be that person, too. As Jane Austen so puts it, "those who do not complain are never pitied." (just a bonus quote, no extra charge.) But that's not who I want to be, that's not who I'm supposed to be, as a Christian. Yah, things get rough and things get dirty (it's called life), but the point of everything (literally, everything), is to draw us nearer to Christ. Even singleness. Shoot, even marriage is supposed to do that. But I'm a single, so singleness if my pulley towards Christ.

But it's hard sometimes. Okay, sometimes it's hard a lot of the time. And I know I'm not the only one who faces the issues that come hand-in-hand with singleness, getting older and other never-thought-I'd-be-here types of things. And so here we are, back to my mantra. I'm most encouraged through honesty and transparency of others. That's why I blog. For the sake of community, for the sake of transparency, for the sake of all the hundreds of other single woman, like me, who's Prince Charming either was never born or is waylaid by a seriously flat tire.

But I run the risk of annoying other people who aren't where I'm at, and as I said, sounding whining and complaining about my life. And that big ugly one - being that girl who always only ever thinks about marriage and refuses to be content without a guy. And friends, I don't want to be that girl. I'm not that girl. I love my life and I love being single and I love the Lord.

But I will be transparent. I will blog with honesty about the times when being single is hard and I will let you see some of the different emotions and feelings that single girls have. Because they are valid feelings.

But I have to be careful to, even in the midst of saying it like it is, to always point back to Christ. Whether it's in my life personally or whether it's when I'm writing about it on my blog for all of you to see. Because He's the answer. The only answer. And He's who I want you to see. I blog because I want you to find Christ closer and dearer and more able in your life, specifically to other single girls. And honestly? It can be a hard balance to be honest about how I feel and point back to Christ. Because there are days when God doesn't feel close, I question what God is up to and I'm just plain out-and-out discouraged. But sometimes it's those days that need to be talked about the most.

As a friend of mine commented on my last blog post (thank you, Dani!), "Countless times I had to stop and talk to God. Pray for the feelings to pass. Feel a bit more miserable, shed a few tears and then climb out of my hole to continue on until the next pothole." Pretty good definition of life, eh? But that's just it - life does have potholes. We do a bit of crying and questioning when we find ourselves crash-landing into one. But we pray, look to Jesus, crawl out and keep right on going. Because He's a keep-on-going kind of God.

So this is me, friends. This is me telling you up front that here at this blog that I call Nothing Less (read why here), you're going to read sometimes about those hard days. You'll see me putting myself out there in all my ugly for you to see. But I do it because I want you to know that it's okay to have ugly days and that you're not doing it alone. And most of all, so that you can be encouraged and reminded that in all trials, struggles and emotions...that Jesus Christ is your only answer. So go to Him.

So, whether you a new friend or an old friend here on this blog...welcome to my blog, where we say it like it is, question our sanity, it's okay to have a sad-moment, cry about it a little...and then always take it all back to Jesus, find our joy and gladness and remember that it's really all about Him anyway.

Okay? Okay.