Lady of Diligence

Yesterday my day was pretty crammed, so I didn't get to read chapter 2 of Lady in Waiting, so I'm going to make up for it by reading 2 chapters today. There will be no update until next Wednesday because I won't have access to the internet until then, so all of my thoughts will be kinda old. Anyways, chapter 2 is about becoming a lady of Diligence. When I hear the word "diligent", I often think about school. I've gone through the first year of college, and I had to be quite diligent in order to make A's and B's. But what does diligence mean in regards to becoming a lady of diligence? (and notice this book concentrates on becoming a LADY, not a woman of diligence because a LADY is something every girl should strive to be).

"The perfect time to make the most of every opportunity is while you are single." That's a line I've heard in pretty much every book I've read about waiting to date. Joshua Harris said it in "I Kissed Dating Goodbye", a book which I didn't let one page go by without underlining or highlighting something on it. Diligence, in this sense, is serving Christ regardless of whether you're single or involved, but especially if you're single. Think about it: if you had a boyfriend, job, church activities, and school, where is the time to really serve God? You would tend, and I can speak from experience, to push God to the back burner. "I'll get around to Him eventually" you might say. Life is distracting, and it seems like it gets even more chaotic when you're a teenager and having to deal with not only your raging hormones, but the opposite sex's raging hormones. It's scary! But as these authors put it, "the single woman can be involved in the Lord's work on a level that a married woman cannot becuase of the distractions and responsibilities of being a wife and mother." Replace "married", "wife" and "mother" with the words "dating" and "girlfriend" and you have distractions that will steer your focus away from God. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that if you date you lose your desire to serve Christ. I'm saying that when you're worried about pleasing a boyfriend, or having to keep dates, etc..., along with everything else that's going on in your life, it's very easy to put off a devotional or ministry opportunity. I know! I admitted at the very first of this post that I put off reading chapter 2 yesterday when I didn't make time for it. I flat out didn't make time to sit down and read what it had to say.

One thing I love about my committment to not dating is telling people when they ask, "do you have a boyfriend?" that "no, I don't. In fact, I've never had one." Honestly, the look of shock on some people's faces is absolutely hilarious! I know that they're probably thinking, "I wonder what's wrong with you?" but trust me, I'm (almost) perfectly normal! One thing being single has allowed me to do is simply focus on college. I'm in an honor society, and I really don't know why I deserve to be! I constantly feel the pressure to make high grades every time I step into the classroom, sit down to take a test, or crack open a book. How could I work on my education with a guy getting in the way? I'm not saying that dating is detrimental to your life. It's a great addition if that's what you should be doing at that moment in time. I always told the Lord that I wouldn't date in high school. I wanted to wait to date until I was in college or halfway through. Now I'm in college, and nothing has changed yet, but I feel as if He's still preparing me for dating. "Your single state may not be permanent, but it definitely is not to be a comatose state until your Prince Charming arrives and whisks you off to his castle." I don't think I've been comatose, but I do think that maybe I've been using my singleness flippantly. I haven't been making the most of what I could out of it.

I feel like I've been rambling, so I'm stopping. Next post to come either later today or tomorrow. :)