It's the time of year again, and I'm in Sydney for Colour Conference once more.
On the one hand I am excited about the weekend ahead, and have some amazing memories and lessons learned from previous Colour Conferences. (This is my fourth, and I love it every time) However, I can’t deny that a couple of hours out of our first session, I’m a little afraid. Why? Because the enemy awaits and the battlefield is set… No, not the spiritual enemy, but an emotional enemy. I’m talking about the Christian culture that celebrates marriage and occasionally finds wives innocently bragging about their amazing husbands and all the amazing things about marriage… Leaving us single chicks feeling rather uncelebrated and unqualified as women.
As per a previous blog post I have mentioned that I haven’t always found it easy to be a twenty-something single Christian female. Over time I have processed most of these feelings and can happily say I am in a place where I am ‘ok’ being where I’m at in life. However, on the brink of one of the largest Christian Women’s conferences in the world, I can’t help but feel I am about to enter a battle; the battle of being ‘ok’ in a room full of passionate (and mostly married) women, who look for jewelery on your left hand right after they smile and say hello… Yes, it happens. And no, I don’t have any bling on my ring finger. Unfortunately. Man I really love bling... ;)
As a guy, I've also felt for a long time that the church doesn't really acknowledge you as an adult unless you're married. Of course not so much in what is said, but in what is done or not done. I don't want to bash the church or anything, I know its not deliberate, but I hear you. All the best for the conference.
ReplyDeleteThanks Adrian. You're so right - it's not a deliberate thing, and I'm sure those who contribute to us feeling this way would wish it weren't so. For the record, the conference has been great so far, but last night there was mention made of wives and mothers with young children, but nothing of single women... yet... ;)
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