Okay. To be honest, reading Jennifer Marshall’s book, Now and Not Yet: Making Sense of Single Life in the Twenty-First Century, has been one of the best things I’ve done this summer. It’s encouraging me in this time of singleness in my life, and giving me perspective on our generation and how we view marriage, life, and romance and dating in general.

It makes you think about your life and where you’re at with the Lord, and also what it means to be devoted to Him first and worldly romance second, or third or fourth or fifth if family, friends, and work happen to be more of a priority, depending on who you are and how your worldview shapes your life (kudos to Worldview Week and Centurions weekend for that sentence!).

I must admit, I’m a “people-watcher.” I love to just sit with a couple of my friends with a good book or my laptop and “discreetly” observe everyone around me. People are so interesting. Like the couple holding hands who walk by with two small children running around their ankles and hanging on them every two seconds. Or the family of six that sit down for a bite to eat at the restaurant near me, bringing a hard-to-suppress smile to my face as I watch their family dynamic in action. Or, my friends and I giggle at the random good-looking guy who walks by us.

Finally, I can’t help but wonder to myself if someday I’ll be like the cute old couple walking side by side down the sidewalk, holding hands and supporting each other as they go. Then, because it always comes back to this, I wonder if I’ll end up alone. That thought is hard. Marshall asks this question in her book. She asks several women from across the country to talk about how they feel about the thought of not being married in ten years or less. Some reflected sadness, discouragement, disappointment, depression and dread. Others hadn’t even considered the possibility.

Life takes unexpected turns. But God is there in the midst of them. These are twists of life that we never would have expected for ourselves. We never would have imagined we would be where we are today, and we have no idea what will happen tomorrow. That’s what’s beautiful about how God works. It’s a perfect tapestry, woven together strand by strand, one piece, one moment, one day at a time, each string as beautiful and unique as the one before it.