I've been thinking alot the past few days about living alone, which I have done off and on for the past 9 years. Alot of things have changed in those years and one of them is definitely learning how to live alone.
I've come to a point now in life where things have settled down; I know what I want, who I want to be and, most of all, I have accepted that things dont always happen the way you dream or plan. I mean I can't lie, I never dreamed I would be 29 with no husband and no kids! Maybe you are married but your husband is away alot. Or maybe you are newly single due to the tragedy of death or divorce. The point is, no matter the reason why you are living alone, the key is the same.
When we accept Jesus' invitation to “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31), your own dreams and plans slowly (sometimes more slowly than others) give way to His dreams and plans. Suddenly your disappointments dont seem so consuming and you can trust and hope in the plans that He has for you. As it says in Proverbs 16:9, "A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure."
In the past little while, I have begun to take Jesus' instructions literally. Living alone means I am free to worship loudly when I want to, or turn off my phone and just be quiet before him. My home is the place where I rest, where I meet with God and I have actively begun to set it up that way. I intentionally create an environment that I want to be in. I plan evenings for myself, just enjoying my own company, and evenings where I can delve into a particular area in which God is speaking to me. So although I dont always love living alone, I can, and I can be happy doing it. I count my blessings; in doing so I am content with the season of life that God is walking me through.
On the purely practical, one of the things about living alone that boggles me, is cooking. I mean, who likes cooking something nice, just for you? Not me. Here are links to some practical solutions to shopping, storing, and preparing meals for one.
http://www.healthyalberta.com/HealthyEating/761.htm
http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity-lifestyle/articles/livingalonerecipes
The other really important thing to have nailed down when you are living alone is budget. There are many tools and advice out there to help you manage your household in an efficient way. (We'll talk about money and budget more in another post)
The tool that I find the most useful is a website called www.mint.com. Its an amazing program that you can use on your PC or on your smart phone. It tracks your expenses and reports at the end of the week on how you have done keeping to your budget. Pretty awesome. Of course, you can also do that by hand (yuck). Basically the big word for cooking and budgets is planning.
Living alone isnt for everyone, certainly. For myself, I am looking forward to the next few months when I will once again have a roommate. But, living alone has given me the opportunity to get to know myself and God in a new and deeper way, and learn important lessons that I will carry the rest of my life, wherever the Lord takes me!
Do you live alone? What would you say is the best or hardest part?
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