I returned to my hometown five years ago to be closer to family. Family was the main draw but I quickly learned they can’t be everything- at least not for a single woman in her late twenties. I needed more. And by God’s grace I found it by way of friends.

There’s over a dozen of us guys and gals in our mid-twenties to early thirties working in various unrelated fields, who all love living in Montana and the sense of adventure it offers.

In our last two years of friendship, we’ve witnessed a lot of milestones in each others’ lives- weddings, babies, moves, new jobs, houses, cars, and pets.

During this time, things have remained pretty consistent for me besides the addition of a new car and my sweet lil kitten Sammy. I have the same job, live in the same house and am still waiting on my man. The latter of which occupies my mind the most.

While my friends all pursue new life changes in the company of their spouse, I continue to navigate life on my own.

Don’t get me wrong. I am blessed. My friends and family do an awesome job of accompanying me in my singlehood. And graces abound in my solitude even when it hurts. I know I’ll look back on this phase of life as a special, intimate, growing time.

Even so, there are times I wonder how much more I need to grow alone. Beautiful growth can be had in the company of another. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I was sure he’d be here by now. Why he’s not, I can’t say. 

But it’s mysteries like these that remind me God’s ways are greater than mine. There are many things I will never understand and I thank God for that. That’s what makes this journey so rich and intriguing- the unknown and the understanding that there’s something bigger than us.

And so, as many times before (and many times yet to come), I choose to accept my divinely placed ignorance and to live into the mystery God’s placed before me.

I will do my best to soak up His graces and to live life to the fullest in this place, knowing there are many treasures yet to be found here and that there is a loving God hard at work behind it all.