Mandy Hale, 36, says she is determined to live her best life now, even without the man many in the church think she needs.
Despite the influx of sermons, devotionals, small groups and teachings on marriage, the fact is, more than 50 percent of adults are single. Many of those singles are in the church.
“I feel like singles … fall through the cracks,” Hale says. “Once you get past a certain point, you have (ministries to) college age, singles, you know, young careers. But I’m 36 now. It’s kind of like, at a certain age, (singles) stick out like a sore thumb.”
To combat the attitude that a woman is incomplete without a man, Hale speaks boldly about living her life in the beautiful uncertainty that is her singleness.
“It’s amazing to see what happens when you show up for your life, live right now, enjoying it, celebrating this moment of your life,” Hale says. “Singleness is always waiting around for the next big thing to occur, and you can spend your entire life waiting and not doing anything. … There’s a beautiful uncertainty to singleness. It’s unknown. It’s not mapped out for us like it is for our married counterparts. Taking a look at it through a different lens means we can embrace the uncertainty and fill the empty time with adventure, friends and traveling.”
Much of the beauty of singleness, she says, has to do with daily surrender to Christ.
“Because I am in a constant state of surrender, I’m constantly depending on Him,” Hale says.
And ultimately, Hale believes that each individual is made complete in Christ alone. For more of Hale’s insights, check out her new book, Beautiful Uncertainty (Thomas Nelson), in stores now. —Jessilyn Justice
