Nearly everything. You can definitely live a brave life now–and love your single life.

Here are some random starters to get your brain brainstorming:

• Plan, budget, and take a road trip.

• Plan, budget, and take a solo weekend trip.

• Find an article about the 10 best pizzas in your area. Make plans with different friends to try each of those pizzas. Find an article about the 10 best Thai restaurants. Do the same. Eat a lot of good food.

• Lead a small group. You want to study more of the Psalms and have conversations about what you are learning? You put together a small group and do that.

• Lead a social justice action group. Are you worried that white America is growing apathetic again years after George Floyd? Put together your own group to have these uncomfortable race conversations. Remember that social justice is a marathon of change, not a sprint. Your part is part of this marathon.

• Volunteer somewhere that makes your heart break. The world needs the heartbreak you risk.

• Budget and buy the Pampered Chef cookware. Don’t wait to receive this at your wedding shower. Cook with the good stuff now.

• Turning 30? Plan your own Turning 30 shower. Create a gift list of updating all that college stuff and passed-on stuff so you can kick off your 30s with your own adult stuff that you choose. You plan a fabulous party for all of your friends to celebrate you this way. Photograph and scrapbook this party.

• Do something spontaneous at least once a month. That is 12 times a year minimum.

• Create or modify and perfect a recipe that is true to you. Even name it after yourself. Whenever you prepare this recipe for the rest of your life you will be celebrating that you created this while you were single and living this full life which will make this food famous.

• Seek out a mentor, preferably someone two generations older than you. Use your time to spend time with this wise saint. This is totally selfish because of how you will grow.

• Who do you need to forgive? Forgiveness is a journey that begins in pain and ends in hope. Do the hard brave work now.

• Do something that requires risk. Realize you are capable of so much more than you think.

Read also:  4 Tips to Make Room for “Yes.”

Something has gone terribly wrong when young Christians believe that their main purpose in life is to get married–to have marriage as the sole grown-up purpose. So much opportunity is lost. So much living. So much impact. And what scares me the most is you may find yourself with nowhere to go when you finally arrive at that (false) magic moment of marriage.

You get to live your life to the full now. You get to live your life. To wait for that love for a lifetime will be a brave ride. Oh the stories you will have to tell about that brave ride! Your stories will amaze people, maybe even that special one you could meet along the way.

All along the way God is molding you which is making you attractive to the spouse you’ve not met yet.

Oh the opportunities for you. Oh the stories you will tell. Oh the impact of your life. Oh the many good and interesting people you will meet. One may be your future spouse.

Sitting around and doing nothing but waiting on God to start your life is actually based in fear. You may claim that you are being responsible and trusting God but that would not be true (fear lies). The definer of your life becomes fear of rejection, fear of vulnerability, fear of being called unlovable, or even fear of trusting God because there is no trust in God when you are trying to control the outcome this much. None of this is very attractive—as in will not attract the kind of match you are trusting God for.

Failure does not define you. Failure means you tried because you believed you are worthy of something good happening to you. Even if that failure is an epic Lifetime-movie-story failure of a past relationship. Even if. You are worthy of something good happening to you.

Instead you have the choice to let your bravery define you. You choose to grow from one brave decision to the next brave decision to the next brave decision and create this wonderful story which you will tell for the rest of your life.

What a brave ride. (I want to hang out with you too.)