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Some people are living single.......contentedly.
There are no thoughts of getting married and they are hot on the dating scene....void of commitment, and having a great sex life.
Yet there are those who are single but might have not had much luck with love, but they desire to one day share every facet of their lives with someone via the holy sacrament of matrimony.
For some, single issues are hard. Dating is hard and the fear of being hurt and deceived (again) looms, as well as other self esteem, moral and developmental concerns.
To address these concerns, P.E.O.P.L.E. (Partners Energizing Others to Purposefully Lead in Excellence), a ministry dedicated to singles and young adults, will be hosting its first annual "Living Single- The Kingdom Way," conference which begins tonight at the Diplomat Center and runs through Sept. 20th.
Speakers for the event will be Ty Adams of Detroit Michigan, who is referred to as " The Juanita Bynum" of her time and world renowned televangelist and author, Dr. Myles Munroe.
Topics to be addressed include Kingdom Lifestyle: Single in the City - His Rules or Mine? Kingdom Attributes: Professional Life/Personal Walk -Developing Character, integrity and maturity for successful living and Kingdom Culture: Sense, Sensibility, Sensuality - Godly precepts vs Modern concepts.
"Dr. Munroe is going to be looking at what the word of God says compared to what the world says, and helping us to understand the dynamics and relating the two as God would want us to do, not the way we would want to do it. It's also looking at the way we respond, the way we feel and it's looking at a lot of different areas - physical, sensual, sexual," explained conference co-ordinator, Pastor Claudine Farquharson, who is also single.
She acknowledged that there are challenges for single people with regard to dating and finding their perfect mate. Dating, she said, is just another aspect or phase that singles go through. "Dating is just that - dating. It is not engagement, and it is not marriage; it can lead to this but it also may not. Once we put this in the proper perspective, we can relax and enjoy meeting and being in the company of another. As godly men and women, we must also bear in mind that we are also representative of a higher calling and we must seek and use His wisdom and direction when dating," said Pastor Farquharson.
"I think in my earlier years, I found it very hard but as I got older, I realised that I had to put in perspective. Enjoy it. Sometimes you go into relationships with a lot of expectations but you go into it with wisdom, so that if it doesn't work out, you just move on. You know that in years before you would get all worked up because time is passing you by...but you just say whatever!" she laughs. "That's how you have to look at it or you'll go crazy."
Pastor Farquharson has been with the ministry at Bahamas Faith Ministries for some 15 years, but during that time, the singles' programme was not consistent. Just one year ago, she took over the helm of this section.
"You know it is a phase in people's life. So they move into the Ministry and move out. We started the ministry because Pastor Myles realised that singles have their own unique issues and challenges, and that is one of the goals of the ministry, to help them [with] regard to addressing those issues, and this is the main purpose of the conference," she said.
She notes that there are many hurting singles, especially women, which gives room for the creation of unhealthy relationships because they are still carrying emotional baggage.
Pastor Farquharson admonishes such individuals not to allow their experiences to "negatively cloud" their judgment with respect to their future relationships.
"For the sake of our spiritual, mental and physical well-being, we must look at what has happened, take of the good, learn from the bad and remember that we as women are influencers and hence mentors and what we do impacts those around us. If we want to have a positive impact, we have to make positive choices. In the end, it will work out for your good," she said.
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