A few weeks ago, the Not Alone Series community challenged one another to take a step in growing toward becoming the people God is calling us to be!! Challenge posts are here.
Being the slacker I am, I neglected to write a challenge post. Womp. BUT I have been working on a few things and challenging myself along with the other NAS ladies.
My biggest challenge in single life is contentment and finding peace. Oftentimes this is due to the wall I put up around myself which incidentally blocks God out, too.
So, the past couple weeks I've really been trying to focus on finding peace, and JOY, in each day He gives.
I tend to steer towards focusing on the big picture of my life, which leads to freaking out because my long-term vision has not yet been accomplished and I'm running. out. of. time!!! But this is so dangerous because then I miss the day-to-day beauties. I can't enjoy the day-to-day when I'm zoomed out all the time.
And for some reason, in the past, this zooming out has caused me to be so focused on my end-goal vocation that I forget...oh right, dating has to fit in there somewhere! And honestly, I think I'm bad at dating. Not the date part of it, I'm fine with that....but the openness to pursuit, allowing the excitement of a new budding relationship, the unknown that comes with it all.
So....I've been dating casually. SO WEIRD, I know. Or, maybe not. But for me, yes.
It's been interesting. And annoying. And enlightening. I might write about all of this in detail someday....
But for now, dating causally has allowed me to open up; to welcome the unknown and allow myself to just be.
Maybe this all makes little sense, but for whatever reason, causal dating has brought me to this place of clarity and I'm at more peace than I have been in a VERY long time. Maybe ever.
It's taught me to not take myself or life, in general, so seriously. I mean, yes, the gravity of life itself is very serious. But focusing on the end goal nonstop - marriage, children, etc. - can distract from enjoying the in between. And the in between can be really, really good.
(It can also be really, really weird and ...weird. Dating is weird.)
So that's what I've been doing. Learning trust and finding peace through casual dating. Who would've thunk?!
How did you utilize the NAS challenge? Did you learn anything about yourself? Please comment or link up below!!
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Next week's topic:
Christian Friendship
What does it mean to be a friend based in Christ? Do Christian friends hold each other higher? Do we let certain things go easier? Do we hold each other accountable? How do these friendships differ from non-Christian based friendships? Do the differ? Is one better than the other?
Do you have an idea or suggestion for a NAS topic? Please email me or Jen! We're always looking for new ideas!!
Oh Morgan. I so can relate to your post. I'm happy to hear you're stretching yourself in healthy ways.
ReplyDeleteWow it clearly comes through how at peace you are! awesome! My problem is I don't even know how to find men to casually date let alone enter into a relationship with.
ReplyDeleteI love this. Totally feel you on the "zoomed out" view, and I'm so glad that you're choosing peace in the uncomfortable casual dating scenarios. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds awesome! Is the "casual" part just a spirit you've adopted or is there some particular characteristic to it? Are you just being casual *about* it? Are you going on dates with multiple guys at the same time, so it *can't* be serious or "a relationship"? Did you expressly agree with him/them that it would be casual? I ask because all the talk about casual dating and marriage-minded dating and all that tends to come from people who are not dating anyone or people who are already married!
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