I love the title of the video: “The Sad Truth About the Typical American Relationship”.
When I tell friends/family that I’ve made the commitment to not date anyone before or during my World Race ministry, they look at me crooked. They don’t understand why I’d agree to such a thing. “But you’re an adult! You can do what you want!” or “What is that place, a cult or something?!” or “But your clock is ticking, and what if God puts the right guy in your life before/during your trip!?”
People seem to feel the need to act as if I should be getting married, birthing/adopting children and buying a home right this very moment.
My response to that is: no. Just no.
I’ve made it this far in life refusing to follow the cultural timeline that American culture shoves on its young people every moment and I see no reason to start following it now.
No, I DON’T need a man to make me happy. No, I DON’T need to get married before I’m 30. No, I DON’T think that having a baby in my 30s should be considered a ‘geriatric pregnancy’. And, no, I DON’T believe that, in order to “really get to know a guy” I’ve gotta live with him and sleep with him before we get married.
What do I believe?
I believe I NEED Jesus in my life if I want to have any joy or peace or happiness. I believe that marriage serves to strengthen two people’s relationship with God; it is NOT, in and of itself, the god that we’ve turned it into. I believe that God will bless me with children when he sees fit and in the manner in which he sees fit. PERIOD. Age has nothing to do with it. I believe that in order to “really get to know a guy”, I should ask him to tell me his testimony; ask what he needs prayer for; ask him if he’ll pray for me; spend time with him and his family; spend time with him and his friends; and carefully watch his reaction when I tell him that he will NOT be sleeping or living with me unless we share the same last name.
What I believe is that all too often, the typical American relationship serves only the needs/desires of one person or both people within the relationship while doing nothing for the glorification of God or for the benefit of those outside of the relationship. So many people use relationships as a way to keep themselves from feeling lonely.
But what I’ve realize in this last year is that being alone and being lonely are NOT synonyms. That going after God’s desires for me and my life ultimately satisfies me more than any romantic or sexual relationship ever could. And that if/when I am in a relationship, it shouldn’t even serve my needs/desires anyway… it should be me and my guy, working together to let our relationship be an example of how 1) GRACIOUS, LOVING AND KIND God is and 2) what FRIENDSHIP, RESPECT AND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE look like.
Relationships don’t exist so that I can check off boxes on my “American Young Adult To-Do List”.
One of my favorite verses relating to relationships is 1 Corinthians 7:32-35,38(NLT) which says:
“I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible... So the person who marries his fiancée does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.“
So that’s what I’m gonna do both before and during my race: I’m gonna be devoted to the Lord, be holy in body and spirit and be free from the concerns of this life. And I’ll take comfort in the fact that I worship a God who wants so much more for me than the “Typical American Relationship”!! 
