WHAT I EXPECTED FEBRUARY TO BE LIKE:
I guess you could say I was having my quarter life crisis. I expected Valentine’s Day to be rough…it’s a day that’s a huge freaking reminder that I’m single. What also really stinks is I signed a no-dating contract for The World Race that started back in December of 2015 and that won’t end until at least August 2017. I’m single and I can’t even mingle? It also didn’t help when I met my Vietnamese family for the first time in Month 3. My aunt literally gasped when I told her I was 24, single and not dating. Her response was “you are ideal age for children, YOU MUST TRY!” Then, it’s also the month of my golden birthday. Turning 25 on the 25th. Another reminder that I’m a quarter of a century old and in 6 months, I’ll have no idea what I’ll be doing for a living or even where I’ll be….
WHAT FEBRUARY WAS ACTUALLY LIKE:
I woke up at at our ministry host’s office next to my 5 beautiful sisters in Christ/teammates. I looked over and said to myself, “I’m going to have a different perspective this Valentine’s Day! Instead of focusing on how single I am… I’m going to remind myself of how much God loves me. He not only needs single people like me but He calls them to leave their homes and lives to come all the way around the world so that others can learn about His son! Yup, this year will be different!”
So, I got up from bed, had a little chit chat with big Papa upstairs and started the morning reading His Word. Then, some Campus Crusade for Christ (our ministry this month) members came into the office. Sister Rachel brought out her guitar and we spontaneously started worshiping our awesome Father with our new CRU friends. After worship, our ministry surprised us by taking our team to the Game Reserve. WHAT! AFRICAN ANIMALS IN THE WILD? YES, PLEASE!
We get to the game reserve and immediately start driving along a pack of OSTRICHES. And let me tell you… if you haven’t seen floppy, derpy, tall dinosaur-like birds running aimlessly on the road with their feathers flopping around at least once in a lifetime, you’re missing out!
But apparently, we weren’t just going to drive around looking for animals, they also wanted a big fellowship with their CRU members and us by having a braai!! If you don’t know what a braai is, think awesome African BBQ Cookout. After playing with local monkeys (more like protecting our food from them) and filling our bellies with steak, pop and rolls, we started heading home. 
My heart started getting a little disappointed because I heard there were zebras and I hadn’t seen any yet. Our driver went to where the zebra pack usually hangs out… and nothing was there. Sad day. BUT I DIDNT WANT TO GIVE UP. I prayed, “GOD, CAN YOU PLEASE MAKE ZEBRAS APPEAR! I REALLLLLLY WANT TO SEE THEM FOR VALENTINES DAY… PLZ DAD PLZZZZZZZ.”
And guess what, right near the exit of the game reserve…. they appeared. Obviously I started screaming and squealing like a 5 year old. It was like “Happy Valentine’s Day, my sweet child” -God. But He didn’t stop there. My God kept pursuing my heart. On our off day, a few of my teammates and I took a weekend trip to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls. I had never heard of Victoria Falls and just assumed it was some waterfall. 
SOME WATERFALL ALL RIGHT…….
Also, have you ever been rained on… not by a cloud but a waterfall?!
Then God was like, I’m not done yet…. look at this double rainbow I have for you!!
What a great week I thought, now time to go home….then we start driving back on the bus to Botswana and then I get a nudge from my teammate to look out the window… 
“Happy early birthday, my sweet Allison. I know these are your favorite animals in the whole wide world.” -God
So, to all my fellow racers/missionaries and friends back home who have what others call the “unwanted” gift of singleness:
If you asked me what my dream was 3 years ago, I would have told you to be a housewife.
If you asked me what my dream was 2 years ago, I would have told you a gun rights lobbyist in Texas.
If you asked me what my dream was now… I honestly could not tell you. I feel like I’m living a life higher than what my mind could possibly ever dream.
I hope and pray you see the way God is pursuing your heart the way that He’s clearly pursuing mine. Singleness is a rare gift that is full of treasures, as long as you have the right perspective. So yes, I do have a longing in my heart to be married. I want kids some day. But do I want my life to go my way… or God’s way?
“The God that you worship created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He told the land where to stop, the sky where to stop, He gave the earth its boundaries. He created humans, put them the in garden so that they might worship Him and know Him and walk in relationship with Him. And when evil had taken over, right, He creates this ark, this boat. And He puts HIS people on that boat, and in the midst of destruction He preserves life! After that He unlocks wombs! And when His people are in slavery He provides them a way out, a sea for them to move through so that their enemies, those that are running after them, are captured.
Then He provided manna from heaven so that they might eat.
He brought down the walls of Jericho.
He killed giants with tiny stones.
He brought water from a rock.
He brought down fire from heaven.
He shut the mouths of lions.
He brought life through the fiery furnace.
He controls the wind and the rain, he’s fed thousands with little.
He’s healed the sick,
He’s made the blind see,
the deaf hear
the mute speak
and He’s brought the dead back to life!
He made provision for you and me through the cross as He died for our sins and rose from the grave…
CAN YOU NOT TRUST HIM?!” -JP, The Porch Pastor
And if I’m called to singleness for the rest of my life…. good thing God gave me a heart to love cats. #CrazyCatLady
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.” Psalm 145:13
