Christmas Cake

Available for over a year

Good morning. I taught business English in Tokyo for the summer of 1994. A group of four young women in their early twenties came every week. They worked together in admin and had very high expectations of being married before they reached the age of 24. They were shocked when they found out that I was 27 and unmarried. One woman blurted out “why you no married at 27 – is big problem for you?” I shared that, like them, I thought that I would be married but it didn’t work out, so I decided to go travelling instead. Another woman giggled and said: in Japan we have special name for you – we call you “Christmas cake” because you go off after the 25th. I laughed and said “well there is a whole lot more life to be lived before I go off”. Singleness has given me opportunities that I wouldn’t have enjoyed otherwise. Except I didn’t expect that I would still be single all these years later! Paul speaks positively of singleness as a ‘gift’ but for me there have been seasons of struggle when singleness is unwanted and something to be navigated. But God understands – He loves each one of us as His beloved child. Perhaps this weekend you can have courage to make a phone call or arrange a meetup with a friend. If it seems like there are 1,000 steps to take you only need to take one and God will take 999. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit May He give you courage to reach out beyond the loneliness to connect with others this weekend.