Single: A Four Letter Word
There was an older woman who attended the church I grew up at who by every definition was an “Old Maid” or a “Spinster”. When I was in the 6th grade she came to talk to my Girl Scout group about her life. We asked her why she never had gotten married and her answer has always stuck with me. Ok, it kind of haunts me. She said that when she was a young girl, she would play Post Office with her friends. Boys would send her letters but she would return the letters return to sender. They continued to send letters and just like always she would return them. Then she said the words that kind of play over and over in my head, “Then one day they just stopped sending letters.” Was she just too picky? Uninterested in dating? Or did she miss the boat?
I’m a single girl and pretty comfortable with that status. I was a late bloomer when it came to boys. When everyone else was having their first dates and first kisses in high school, I was writing the Mickey Mouse Club fan letters and sending Jonathan Brandis my hand-made friendship bracelets. You could say I wasn’t really in touch with reality. I remember feeling left out but mostly because my friends had other plans that didn’t involve me. No one in high school ever asked me out so I never had to worry about it. They weren’t on my radar and I wasn’t on theirs so it worked out well. It wasn’t until college that I started dating and haven’t stopped since. Not because I like dating but because I haven’t found the right person for me. Now before you “Oooohhh” and “Ahhhh”, “poor thing”, and “tsk tsk” me, you should know something. Yes, I look forward to the day when I am married and have children but I am not interested in marrying someone just for the title. That’s way too easy. Us single girls in our thirties should not be treated like designer jeans that are now sold at T.J. Maxx because the company made too many. We are still designer jeans. Yes, I know your sister’s ex husband’s brother is a great catch and I’m glad he is almost out for parole but he is not for me.
On the flip side I don’t want the boys to stop sending letters because I keep sending them back either. WHAT IS YOUR POINT, MEGAN! Here it is..being single doesn’t mean someone wasn’t good enough for the first draft. So when you look at an awesome single lady, or guy for that matter, and say, in my opinion, the most patronizing statement: “I just don’t understand why you are single” you might think you are saying “You are great, everyone wants to be with you” (which we actually already know) but to us it sounds like you are saying being married is a club you have to be a part of and we just can’t seem to score an invite. Maybe before you say that statement you should stop and think about how God is faithful and we are just along for the ride. We know you care about us and that is why you want us to find someone to be happy. We will if it is in God’s plan. If not, God has another great plan for us.
You all remember how to play “Old Maid” right? Or “Jennifer Aniston” as the media would like to have us call it. 
You pick from a group of cards and pair up your matches, the one stuck with the Old Maid loses. Look closer at that picture of the Old Maid, looks to me like she’s having a great time. Reminds me of another lady I once knew who one day just stopped receiving mail.
My Life With Freckles 