“The King [Jesus] will reply, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. Anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ dec63”
— Matthew 25:40 (NIrV)
Jill’s favorite aunt Mickey called on a Friday morning to ask if she could drop by and spend the night on her way down south. She had an unexpected work trip. Jill was the only one home, but she was sure it would be alright with her mom. Only later did she find out that both her mom and her older sister Sabrina had dates for the night.
When Jill finally heard a car door slam around 8 o’clock, she ran down the stairs and out the door. She threw herself into Mickey’s arms.
“Hey, there! Good to see you!” Mickey held Jill out for a long look. “Wow! What a lovely grown-up person you’ve become!”
Jill smiled. Mickey hadn’t changed. Her eyes were warm and caring.
Jill and Mickey went to a country inn for dinner, and it was fun being in such a nice place. It was even more fun to talk, just the two of them. But when they were having dessert, Jill thought about how both her mom and sister were out on dates. “Mickey,” she asked, “do you ever feel sad that you’re not married?”
“Sometimes. But I’m not sorry about it,” Mickey said. “Some people feel sorry for me, but that’s their problem.”
“How come? I mean, why haven’t you gotten married?”
“So far, I haven’t felt that God put me together with the right man. It’s much better not to marry than to marry the wrong person.”
“But do you ever feel like you’re — ” Jill stopped.
“Like I’m not cute or worth being with?” Mickey grinned, but her eyes were serious. “You know, Jill, it can be really fun to find the right person at the right time. But it isn’t all there is to life.”
Mickey set down her iced tea. “I don’t want to spend my life looking around every corner for a man. If God wants me to marry, he’ll show me who the person should be. But if he doesn’t want me to marry, that’s okay. It’s okay to not get married. I have a full life,” Mickey went on. “Because I don’t have a family, there are ways in which I’m free to help other people. But you see, if I’m married or not married, I’m a whole person. I’m a person valued by God.”
“Do you ever get lonely?” Jill asked.
“Sure,” Mickey told her. “Times like that I try to reach out to others — to see if there’s a way I can help them. Times like that I come and see you.”
Jill grinned. “And take me out for supper.”
More to Explore: 1 Corinthians 13
Girl Talk: What are some good things about being single?
God Talk: “Jesus, help me to remember that I am a whole person, valued by God, even when I feel lonely or forgotten. Amen.”
From Girl Talk by Lois Walfrid Johnson