Apparently there is something odd about a single woman packing up her belongings and moving half way around the world. Leaving her family, friends and country is something to talk about. Or is it?
People have been moving around the world since time on earth as we know it began. Adam and Eve were the first migrants although they moved for different reasons than I did. While I had what seemed like the perfect life, I was called here to Ireland. There is sin and despair all around me, yet I have no desire to be anywhere else.
Getting here wasn’t easy, though. I spoke at more churches than I can count. I met more people than I can remember. I talked about myself and my ‘vision’ more than any one person should. To have so many people interested in what I have to say, it doesn’t do the ego well. I am questioned, laughed at, laughed with, admired, envied, despised, rejected, accepted, loved and hated. Sometimes, because of what I say, sometimes because of what I do and sometimes just because of who I am. So who am I?
People are waiting for me to marry so I can be complete. Am I not who I should be without a husband? Apparently God is wrong. The fact that I am serving Him where He has asked me to has nothing to do with anything. I am still worthy of concern and sympathy. But what if I’m not ready to get married? What if God, the same God who created the world in six days says I am never to marry? “Don’t worry Belinda, you’ll get married some day.” Hmm. Not what I was going for.
Whether I do or do not get married, I can be certain that it is God’s best for me. Yes, I have a part in how my life moves along but I hope to do nothing without God’s approval. I don’t want to be anything less than what God wants me to be.
So I will carry on being hated, loved, despised, rejected, accepted, admired, laughed at and laughed with. I will live half a world away from friends and family because Heaven is my home. I am merely passing through and trying to change the world for the glory of God. It is what we are all to do. It is what every single, married, separated, divorced or widowed woman is supposed to do.
©2001 Thrive
View the original print magazine where this article was first published.
