Thirty-two and single, I wondered if I would ever meet “the one.”
If you are in your single season and longing for marriage, I know exactly how you feel. I tried dating apps, I tried meeting guys organically, but nothing worked.
When I finally surrendered to God’s plan and asked Him to be my Matchmaker, everything changed.
Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to get married. And my parents taught me that dating was something you did to find the person you were going to marry. I know not everyone agrees with this approach, but I always thought it was beautiful.
As I got older, I discovered that most people saw dating very differently.
It seemed everyone just saw dating as a fun pastime, a rush, a sexual adventure.
And to that I say, to each their own.
My friends told me I should date around to figure out what I like, but I always had this feeling that I would just know when I met the one for me. Besides, I was too busy with life and figuring myself out to add a boyfriend into the mix.
Maybe I watched too many romantic movies growing up, and maybe I was naive with my head in the clouds, but seeing my friends go through all their relationship drama and heartbreak, I honestly did not regret missing out on the dating scene in my teens and most of my twenties.
I wanted to wait for something different.
Had I made a mistake?
However, when I hit thirty and was still single, I began to wonder if I had made a mistake. I wasn’t meeting anyone organically, and I did not want to end up a lonely spinster, so I decided to give dating apps a try.
I tried Plenty of Fish, Bumble, Hinge, and Tinder to name a few. At first, every new app I downloaded filled me with a sense of excitement and possibility.
Maybe I would finally match with “the one” and have my own modern love story.
But deep down, I hated how dating apps made me feel. Trying to make my profile appealing enough to strangers so they would swipe right, and knowing most guys only swiped if they found my photo attractive (never bothering to actually read the well thought-out bio I had crafted), felt gross.
And after the dozens of inappropriate messages I received, it soon became clear that most people on dating apps are looking for something casual…and sexual. It just wasn’t for me.
I decided to give up.
Fast-forward to December of 2021. After a handful of dates and a heartbreaking situationship with someone I thought was the one, I gave up. I was thirty-two and my attempts to find my person had epically failed.
So, I decided to rip up my list of deal breakers and expectations and I asked God to be my Matchmaker.
He had changed my life in so many ways already, surely He could find the one for me. I mean, didn’t He already know who He was?
So, I wrote it all down in my journal. My prayer, my surrender–I was ready to give it all to God and rest.
I put my focus and energy towards growing in Christ and enjoying the remainder of my single season, for I fully trusted that God was working as my Matchmaker and I would meet my future husband in His perfect timing.
And this is what happened.
Drumroll please…
After I wrote that journal entry, I met my now-husband three months later in March of 2022 and we got married in December of 2022. What is incredible is that in December of 2021, he also wrote down in HIS journal that he was ready to let go of trying to find the one, delete the dating apps, and let God find his wife.
If this is not a testimony about the power and beauty of surrender, I don’t know what is.
If you are in your single season and longing for marriage, I encourage you to let God be your Matchmaker. Let go of your list of deal breakers and expectations, and let go of a timeline.
Surrender and trust that God wants the best for you and His plans for you will always be better than the plans you have for yourself.
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