Girl lying flat on table - crossing the line of singleness

Singleness: The Line I Can’t Seem to Cross

Written By Wu Yan Ping, Singapore

What is the purpose of a line? It is used to separate things into two categories. From where I’m standing, the people on the other side of the line are either attached or married. And here I am, on my side of the line, waiting to cross it.

Yes, I’m single. Some people say that once you pass a certain age, it is difficult to get attached. Unfortunately, I’m past that age. Most of the guys in my age group are already attached or married. There’s no one eligible in sight for me.

I have never been in a relationship before and I pray every day for the Lord to bring me across the line into a relationship and eventually, marriage. That almost happened when my church was in the midst of merging with another church and I got to meet other singles in my age group. In a bid to bond the members, the churches organized a combined service late last year.

That was when I met *Xavier, who attends the other church. We hit it off very well and shared similar interests in philosophy and history. We attended the young adults cell group together. Xavier and I also met up outside church to go out for dinner. He gave me gifts even when it wasn’t a special occasion and often went out of his way to help me.

Throughout the five-month long friendship, I started to develop feelings for him. He started to become more than a friend to me. Here was my chance to get attached and married, I thought to myself. He wasn’t a bad catch at all—he was very encouraging, and always sent me text messages to cheer me up. He was also intellectual, and yet a bit of joker. I felt very comfortable around him.

His behavior towards me suggested more than just a platonic friendship. I wanted to follow my heart and tell him how I felt about him. However, I held back when Xavier started talking to me about his ex-girlfriend who had chosen to marry someone else. I remember his wistful expression as he showed me a picture of his ex-girlfriend riding an elephant with him, and him telling me how his friend had betrayed him and stole her from him.

It became obvious to me that Xavier still hadn’t gotten over his ex-girlfriend and was still bitter about it. And yet, he also said that he was interested in another lady and had gone on dates with her. When he said that, I tried my best to keep my composure. Deep inside, however, my heart was broken.

In the end, our churches did not merge and I was back in my own church. I felt the odds were against me. I was the only single in her thirties and the chances of meeting other single men were slim. I felt so lonely and uncertain of my future.

Desperate for a relationship, I even thought of switching to another church with a higher proportion of people in my age group. I tried dating applications but because I couldn’t see the other party’s facial expression, I found it tough to connect with them or to ascertain their sincerity in a relationship. I even had irrational thoughts of confessing to Xavier just so that I could be attached again.

Throughout my journey of getting over him, I cried out to the Lord multiple times, asking Him to take away the feelings I had for Xavier. I wanted to move on to find someone else.

However, God didn’t give me a new partner or remove my feelings. Instead, He gave me distractions from my pain. I discovered that I had a good ear for music, and have since become a vocalist in church. I’ve also been involved in doing up the worship slides. Having some knowledge of Bahasa Indonesia, I am also learning how to sing worship songs in Bahasa Indonesia and Bada—an Indonesian dialect—for an upcoming event that I volunteered to be part of.

At my workplace–where I work as a School Programmes Executive—I have been tending to students’ injuries, and have put my first-aid skills to good use.

The Lord has shown me that I still can experience pockets of joy without a romantic partner. For example, I still enjoy going out with my family and had fun at the recent National Day Parade preview with a friend.

At this point of time, I still don’t know what good will come out of this situation. However, one thing is for certain: God has given me a new desire to use what He has given me to advance His kingdom.

Sure, it would be easy for me to be bitter or to wallow in self-pity over my situation. For the longest time, my natural response had been to stop thinking about the Lord and His Word. I would blame God for the situation and for my pain, and stay away from church.

However, I’ve made a conscious choice to praise the Lord. Although I still pine for a relationship and to be delivered across the line into marriage, the Lord has put joyful songs in my heart, as if to remind me to praise Him. I have found myself singing worship songs at 5.30 a.m. and I’m very encouraged by the lyrics. These songs uplift my spirit, leading me to worship the Lord.

 

*not his real name

8 replies
  1. Esther
    Esther says:

    Dont worry whether youll find a real man.i know its easy said than done but i struggle in being single although im still single.i had a bad experience in a relationship where i masturbated in my hostel when every body is asleep and the guy isnt a good guy.i went into a relationship not because i want one but to get rid of my loneliness.however after my ordeal i broke up with him and i felt at peace that i almost never had. Maybe i experienced it before but it had given me a peace of mine and i would continue rejoicing god.although sometimes now the loneliness feeling would come back but im still rtying ways to make me happy and i am always grateful for being single although i sometimes feels like praying so that ill find my true man.

    Reply
  2. Wu Yanping
    Wu Yanping says:

    Hi, I’m the contributor of the article. It has been three months since the friendship with Xavier was broken. It was a painful process. I just grieve for three days. There were times I was angry and wanted to get back at him. But I choose to focus on the Lord by telling Him that I was angry at Xavier.

    I choose to thank the Lord I still have hands and legs to play recreational netball. The para-athletes that I met at ASEAN Para Games 2015 put me to shame. They may not know God, but they are living to their fullness for their Maker even with missing limbs and eyesight. They learnt to live focused and thankful lives.

    Thanks for sharing, Esther. I pray that you will encounter the sweet joy of the Lord. In Nehemiah 8:9-10, Nehemiah asked the people not to weep because the joy of the Lord is their strength. The Israelites finished building the wall while under Persian occupation. Their ancestors sinned against the Lord and they felt guilty about it.

    Don’t let guilt rob you of the sweet joy that the Lord has for you. He’s willing to forgive.

    Reply
  3. Serena Loh
    Serena Loh says:

    I thank God for how your life is a fragrance unto Him. It is a beautiful post and God blesses us in ways more than we can ever imagine, sometimes more than we could ask for, including crossing the line of singleness.
    Peace

    Reply
  4. Mike
    Mike says:

    Well for me being a single man has so many disadvantages since wherever i decide to go which i will always be alone. And meeting a good woman to share my life with is the hardest thing of all too unfortunately. Well even though i was married at one time which my ex wife cheated on me, and i was a very good husband that was very caring, loving, and very committed to her as well. And that still meant nothing to her since she had that desire to cheat on me anyway which really hurt me very much. Now being single and alone for me is certainly no fun at all since i have a very excellent reason to really hate the holidays when they come around.

    Reply

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