{"id":4066,"date":"2016-09-15T11:01:58","date_gmt":"2016-09-15T16:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/?p=4066"},"modified":"2016-09-15T11:01:58","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T16:01:58","slug":"life-is-not-about-being-single-or-married","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/christian-encouragement\/life-is-not-about-being-single-or-married\/","title":{"rendered":"Life is not about Being Single or Married"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Life is not about being single or married. Life is about God. Do I believe that God has the power to bring a wonderful man of God into my life to be my husband? Definitely.<\/strong> Do I believe that I can live a fulfilled and joyous life while unmarried? Definitely.<\/strong> How can I write this with such conviction? Because I am growing to understand that either route I take is a win, win situation. Why? Because in both of those paths I STILL<\/strong> have God. He\u2019s the key ingredient. My life will be a beautiful journey, not if I stay single or if I get married, but if I stay with the Lord.<\/strong> As long as I have Him<\/strong>, I\u2019m going to be alright<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.\u201d -Philippians 4:12-13<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By the world\u2019s standards, I should probably be married by now and have 1.5 kids. God has allowed me to have degrees, a career, a car, and a salary, which I am very grateful to Him for. However, now that I have all of these things, the world tells me all I need now is the husband, the house, and the kids. But what does God say?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I used to try and live my life by the standards of the world. It was absolutely EXHAUSTING<\/strong> trying to keep up! I was always a step behind. I was never good enough. I always had to do more to reach what the world said I was supposed to be. I became tired of trying to keep up. The more I tried, the more frustrated<\/em>, sad<\/em>, and anxious<\/em> I became. So, when I wore myself out by running after the world, I finally decided to give God\u2019s way a try.<\/p>\n

I pursued God. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I pursued His will over my own will.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I sought for my contentment in Him and NOT in my relationship status.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I admit there were days that were EXTREMELY HARD.<\/strong> Many days I cried. Many nights I was ready to throw in the towel. Some days I was angry at God. \u201cGod have you forgotten about me? Don\u2019t I deserve happiness!? Don\u2019t I deserve a husband and kids like everyone else!? Don\u2019t you care that I\u2019m hurting? Why can\u2019t I have a beautiful story like everybody else? It seems like I keep failing!\u201d But even in my selfish moments of frustration, God was so patient<\/strong> with me and is STILL<\/strong> so patient with me. Every day He keeps on loving me and reminding me that what I am really in search of and wanting is Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHow precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can\u2019t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me.\u201d -Psalm 139:17-18<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You see, the world tries to tell us that if we just have<\/strong><\/p>\n

this person<\/strong><\/p>\n

this thing,<\/strong><\/p>\n

and this amount of money <\/strong><\/p>\n

our lives will be grand and wonderful! <\/strong><\/p>\n

FALSE.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The world has tried to eclipse our need for God. When in fact the more the world tries to push us away from God, the more our hearts yearn<\/em> with such an emptiness<\/span> that craves<\/em> for His<\/strong> filling<\/em>. Life is not in a particular relationship status. Life is not even in the power of a woman\u2019s womb. Life is not in things nor in people. True life is always and will always be in God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who is the world to tell us how our lives should be? The world didn\u2019t make us, God did! The world tells us we are supposed to have our life planned out. \u201cBy this age I\u2019ll have this. My husband will be exactly like this. I will have 3 children 2 girls and 1 boy.\u201d How foolish do we look? Do we really think we have the power to plan our lives?<\/em> NO!<\/strong> What room do we leave for God? For faith? For dependency on Him?<\/strong> When we think we have everything figured out, it gives us a false<\/strong> sense of security<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Life has taught me that the only<\/span> thing I have control over is whether I will obey God<\/span> or the Devil. That\u2019s it. Everything else is out of my control. Life is filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, mountains and valleys. It\u2019s an unpredictable life<\/em> filled only with a dependable<\/span> God.<\/strong> So I can put my mind to rest trying to figure everything out.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have to figure it all out.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I simply just have to trust God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So nowadays when people ask me, Ashley where do you see yourself in 3-5 years? My response is, \u201cIn the will of God.\u201d<\/em> You see my life will never be defined by my relationship status. My life will only be defined by the God that created me.<\/p>\n

Going into my 25th year of life, I am learning to embrace the beauty of the dark chaos of life. When we confidently walk into the unknowns of life, the unpredictable moments, the trying circumstances, and the painful trials, it is in the dark chaos of life that the beauty of God\u2019s light is truly shown. So many times we want to run to the comfortable aspects of life, or get angry with God when we are thrown into an uncomfortable place. All the while God is saying, \u201cMy child, have no fear, I am with you. Trust me in the process. Trust me during the wait. Trust me even in the midst of the pain. Trust me even when you don\u2019t understand. Trust me even when you can\u2019t trace my plan.\u201d What I refuse to do is to allow desperation and discontentment lead me to get married, or fear and past pain keep me single. I\u2019m seeking my best everyday to trust God in every moment of my life.<\/strong><\/h6>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTrust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.\u201d-Proverbs 3:5-6<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I trust that He knows best. I trust that He knows the life that I, Ashley Moneet, need to live in order to get to glory.<\/p>\n

If that life is a single life, Lord let it be.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If that life is a married life, Lord let it be. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Either way, just let your will in my life be carried out and your presence in my life forever remain. I trust that He will lead me in the path that He has for me. My prayer for you, my friend, as you read these words is that you too trust Him. It doesn\u2019t matter where you are in life right now, God still has the power<\/span> to lead you into His will if you\u2019re willing to let go of the reigns and trust Him. Trust God, not the world and not yourself. Don\u2019t measure yourself by your relationship status. Measure yourself by a child of the King that\u2019s choosing to trust God no matter the state you\u2019re in.<\/strong> Remember, life is not in being single or in being married. True life is in God.<\/p>\n

In love,
\nAshley Moneet<\/h5>\n
Fearless.Faithful.Following.<\/h5>\n
<\/h5>\n
*Memory Verses:<\/span> Philippians 4:12-13, Psalm 139:17-18<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n
*Character Study\/Book Study: <\/span>This week I want you to focus on the book of Philippians. Study and learn from the life of Paul, and use his example as well as the words he wrote to the church in Philippi to encourage you. Seek to grow in your contentment towards God, no matter what state you are in.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

***If you have anything you would like to share, whether it be a testimony, a question, or you want to express how you feel about this blog, please comment below. I would love to hear from you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Life is not about being single or married. Life is about God. Do I believe that God has the power to bring a wonderful man of God into my life to be my husband? Definitely. Do I believe that I can live a fulfilled and joyous life while unmarried? Definitely. How can I write this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[35],"tags":[62,63,145,65,107,70,77,78,81,86,117,97],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4066"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4083,"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4066\/revisions\/4083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f3ashley.com\/2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}