Lavish Love!

Reading: 1 John 3:1

We single women sometimes feel deprived of love, don’t we? That feeling can lead us to other feelings and thoughts, such as depression or bitterness, if they are not tempered with a larger truth: We are, in fact, lavishly loved every day of our lives.

Whether we actually feel lavishly loved is directly related to how we spend our thinking time and emotional energy. We have choices to make. We can focus on what’s missing in our lives — the hole in the donut — stewing over why we are alone or why we have been denied a mate or wondering why we are seemingly being punished. By doing that, we will likely become bitter, angry and miserable. Or we can focus on the bigger picture of our lives — the donut — thanking God for blessings and joys we have in other parts of our lives. Interestingly, the more we look for the blessings, the more blessings we begin to see.

I’ve been single again for almost 30 years. In that time I’ve had no mate, but I’ve had marvelous friends, a beautiful family, the freedom to minister and travel and serve. God has blessed me richly with opportunities to write, teach and mentor others. He has given me a wonderful home and the income to support myself. He has, in fact, lavished his love on me in more ways than I can begin to describe or even realize.

By focusing on his love instead of my loss, I have learned to live with joy and hope and happiness. It’s a choice I make again every morning.

Where is your focus?