Marry Well

The Single Journey

Christian relationship experts Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend feature an article on the website about the single journey. Check out this excerpt:

There is a paradox in the spiritual growth arenas regarding singles, both never-married and formerly-married. At least half of the population is single, and yet there are proportionately very few resources for singles. This gap neglects a great many important needs of a great many people. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the spiritual and emotional path of the single person, so that you can put some sort of structure into your particular life context. Henry and I both married later in life, so we have a lot of experience and identification with the single journey.

1. Understand your singleness from God’s perspective. Whether you are single by your choice, another’s choice, or by the circumstances of your life, God is intimately involved in your state. He does not consider you as being on Plan B. In fact, many of His own, for example Jesus and Paul, who did wonderful things in his name were single.

2. Person first, single second. First, though singles have unique problems and struggles, you are still more alike married people than unlike them. God designed humanity with certain basic needs and aspects that we call character (Rom. 5:1-4). These character issues are universal to all, such as needs for relationship, freedom, responsibility, living in reality and the like. Don’t get sidetracked into thinking that singleness is a condition that separates you from the lives of others.

Visit Cloud-Townsend Resources to read the full article.

Do you identify with the path Cloud and Townsend suggest? Why or why not?