The Slow Dance

      Friday, April 10th, 2015. I'm at the annual homeschool spring formal (we're not all awkwardly living under a rock, you know!) I'm having a great time, dancing the night away, when it happens. And by it, I mean the dreaded slow dance, when the crowd parts like the Red Sea and everyone starts pairing up with their dates. Now for an almost seventeen-year-old girl who's been single for, well forever, I normally don't feel particularly concerned or jealous when my friends start talking to and eventually dating guys. But at that moment, when I looked around and saw all my single friends dancing with people and my dating friends looking so sweet and happy together, I felt like I had a blinking neon sign over my head that said "Awkward and Alone." And for that split second, I was kicking myself for being... too weird maybe? I didn't know what it was that kept people from wanting to dance with me, and I'll say, it kind of stung.

     But then I turned around and saw a girl standing in front of me. She smiled shyly and asked me to dance, and I'm sure she was asking because she'd seen me dancing with some of the girls in my group that were too young to be comfortable dancing with guys. Of course, I said yes, and we had a great time for the 3 or 4 minutes that the song was on, spinning and laughing like a couple of close friends even though we never even learned each other's names. Now I know you may be thinking, "Why is this random moment from a school dance worth writing about? Why share this for the world to see?" The reason is this: in that moment and many others for the rest of the night, I realized that God took what I thought was an awkward place in my life and used it to remind me that he really does plan each and every moment for good. He used me and my slightly nerdy, never-meets-a-stranger personality to help someone feel comfortable being dateless in a world where "single" means "flawed". All of my slow dancing with 12-year-old girls and trying to help people who are feeling uncomfortable, friends and strangers alike, is just God's way of using a quirky girl to make a difference. And not only that, but He also has a plan designed just for me. 

     Even though  right now that plan doesn't include dating,  I am completely confident that the reason is that at the moment He can use me as a "single lady" much better than He could if I had a boyfriend. God has a different plan for each one of us, and if you're like me and it seems like it's not in His plan for you to date in high school, don't feel bad. I'll admit it does get hard sometimes, but God is not playing favorites when He blesses your friend with that "perfect boyfriend". He's still preparing you and your true love so that when the time comes, you'll be ready for each other. I know that waiting for the right person can seem like an endless slow dance where you don't have a date. But when you listen to God and let Him direct your paths, He will give you someone who will still be there for you when the song ends.