I walked away from the church in January. Granted, it's only the end of March, but I've been raised in the church since I was eight days old, when my mom first brought me into church and I ruined her pink pants.
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| Missions trip to Mexico in 2005 |
No one even noticed. I'd been in the same church since I was eight. I accepted Christ as my savior when I was nine years old and eager to love God more than Barbies and jelly-beans.We moved when I was in high school to be closer to this church. All of my friends went to church with me and I babysat for many families over the years. I'm twenty-six years old and unmarried. Most of my friends went away to college and got married. A few came back, but they got married and moved away. For four years, I've realized that there's not really a place for me in the church since I'm not married and don't have any kids. I don't really fit into the college group anymore, the newly engaged, young married, married with kids, or soul searchers (retired with grandkids). Other than volunteering, there's not really a place for me. I felt alone. Very alone.
I stopped going to church when I realized that every Sunday I would drive to church alone, sit by myself, no one would speak to me unless forced when we shook hands, and I'd leave by myself. No one wanted to know more about me anymore. My age group was either married or didn't come to church anymore.
I don't want the church to run a dating service. No way. That's not the point. But I do want to be around other people with the same life circumstances and have things in common with the other Christians in the church. I didn't.
So I stopped going to church and that's where my journey begins. A journey to understand the hole in the church where young singles are walking away and feeling unwanted.
